The Funny Thing About Friends
by OmG-iTs-MeAgAn
Summary: Every once in a while, the BAU gets a case that's personal to one of them. Now, it's Spencer's turn. Past secrets are brought up and the agents are brought closer together, all while the race is on to save the life of Spencer's lifelong friend.
1. Missing

Meagan :)

Chapter 1

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Hey guys, this is my first Criminal Minds story, so tell me how I did! :) R&R!

Chapter 1

Bailey Connor watched her one-year-old daughter play with one of her many annoying, singing toys with a slight smile upon her face. At this moment, her daughter, Anni, was playing with a singing mailbox that practically never shut up. Almost every day, Bailey went to work with the alphabet song stuck in her head, or another childhood song that the mailbox sang. For these reasons, she and her husband, Jake, called the mailbox 'the hellbox'.

Anni looked up at Bailey, then the mailbox, then back up at her mother, and let out a giggle.

"Are you having fun?" Bailey smiled at Anni. Anni just giigled again in reponse, having not learned how to talk yet. "Yes you are!" Bailey answered her own question, which she did quite often after Anni was born. She didn't mind, though.

Bailey heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and she looked over her shoulder to see her husband walk into the room.

"Good morning, honey." She said to him, as he knelt down next to where she was sitting on the floor.

"Good morning, love." He said in reply. He kissed her softly, and when they pulled away, Bailey snuggled into his side.

"And, good morning to you, too, beautiful." He said to Anni. She giggled at him and pressed yet another button on her singing mailbox. It burst out in singing a variation of 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', but instead changed the words to colors, so it now sang, 'Green, Green, Green and Red...'

Bailey and Jake let out a moan at the same time.

"Not _**again**_!" Jake said with a smile.

"Oh, I give up." Bailey said throwing her arms up into the air with a small laugh.

"Hun, what time is it?" She asked Jake. He looked at his watch.

"9:35. Oh, I better get going." He replied. He stood up and straightened his tie. Anni crawled over and playing with his shoelace.

"Not right now, baby." He told Anni. "Daddy has to go to work. But Mommy is gunna stay home and play with you all day long." He smiled down at her, and she gave her usual response: a giggle.

Jake worked as one of the surgeons at the New Jersey State Hospital, and he had to work Monday-Friday from 10 am-5pm. Bailey owned a vetrianarian clinic, but after Anni was born she did most of her work from at home on the computer. But on the weekends she usually went into work, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays she found a sitter for Anni so that she could go in to the clinic.

Bailey heard a _whirr_ coming from down the street, and she walked over to the window and looked out. She moved a piece of her blonde hair out of her bright, blue eyes.

"Jake, it's street cleaning day." She sighed. "I forgot to move the car again. Can you just stay a few more minutes and watch Anni?"

"Sure, Bailey."

"Thanks." She hurried over to the door and called over her shoulder once more. "I'll be right back!"

But, little did any of them know, she would not.

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Spencer Reid tried to catch an M&M in his mouth, but failed. Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, and JJ all laughed.

"Okay, its not as easy as it looks." He admitted with a small smile. He looked at his notebook. "But I would have sworn that the equation would have been right about how to throw a piece of food with that mass and be able to catch it in-"

"Spencer," JJ butted in. "There's nothing mathmatical about catching food in your mouth."

Spencer looked down at his notebook, not believing.

Emily and Derek both rolled their eyes, smiling. JJ's cellphone went off, and she read the text she had just gotten from Rossi.

"Guys," She said, getting their attention. "Hotch and Rossi have something important that we need to see...they say we have a new case."

Spencer, Emily, and Derek all nodded, the mood suddenly serious. As they walked up together towards the office, Spencer's cell phone began to ring. He looked at the Caller-ID.

"Hmm...I should probably take this. You guys can start with out me. I'll get filled in on everything later." He said, answering the phone. The others walked on without him.

As they entered the office where Rossi and Hotch were standing, they also noticed that Garcia was there as well, which was a bit unusual.

"Where's Reid?" Hotchner asked, looking over his team.

"He said to start without him. He had to take a call." Derek answered. Hotch nodded and signaled for them to take their seats. Garcia began to talk.

"This tape showed up in my office just this morning, and..." She hesitated. "I, uh, I think that you guys need to see it."

She hit play on the remote, and a video began to play on the TV.

The setting was dark, but it was clear that a young woman, no older than 35, was sitting in front of the camera. She was crying and had a black eye. At first she said nothing, but then a man was heard in the backround.

"Say what I told you to!" He hissed.

She let out a whimper, and then began to speak in a shaky voice.

"M-my name is Allison Grasso. I am 33 y-years o-old. I have been marked as N-number One, which means that I...that I...am the first to be k-k-killed. If you do not find me and the others, I will d-die before this week is over. Please help me, whoever you are, I have a fiance and I want to go home! I-" The girl was cut off from her sentence by someone turning the camera off. Within seconds, the camera turned back on, and another girl was on the screen. She appeared more calm than the last, but she still was crying.

"My name is Brenda Feika. I am 31 years old. I have been marked as Number Two, which means that I am the second to be...killed. If you do not find me and the others, I will die a week after Allison. Please. I have a boyfriend and I want to g-go home." The camera went dark again and then turned on a few seconds later, with a new girl sitting in the chair. She was sobbing softly.

"Shut up and talk." The man behind the camera demanded. The girl sighed and nodded, terror showing in her eyes.

"My name is Teresa Cenido, I am 36 years old. I have been marked as Number Three, which means t-that I am the t-third to be killed. If you do not find me and the others, I will die a week after Brenda. I don't have a boyfriend but I have a big family and I miss my sisters. All I want is to go home." Once again, the camera turned off and on, with another girl sitting in the chair. This girl showed little emotion, as though she had given up hope.

"My name is Betsy Obost. I'm 33 years old. I have been marked as Number Four, which means that I am the fourth to be killed. If you do not find me and the others, I will die a week after Teresa. I have a boyfriend and I want to go home to him."

As the camera went dark, Spencer hurried into the room. His face had worry written all over it, and his eyes were large.

"Reid, what's wr-" Hotch began, but Spencer's attention was on the TV.

"Rewind that!" He nearly screamed at Garcia, and she looked at him, alarmed. She hit the rewind button, and the TV went back to the end of Betsy's speech.

"Stop." Spencer muttered, and Garcia hit play again.

The screen went dark and, when the camera turned back on, a new girl was sitting in the chair. She had a bloody lip, and had tearstains on her cheeks. She began to talk.

"My name is Bailey Connor. I am 30 years old. I hav-" Spencer began to talk again.

"Rewind that, again." He told Garcia. At this point, everyone in the room was looking at him. He did not notice.

The tape began once more.

"My name is Bailey Connor."

"Rewind it." Spencer said. Garcia looked at him, worried, but she did as told.

"My name is Bailey Connor."

The words echoed in Spencer's head.

My name is Bailey Connor.

My name is Bailey Connor.

My name is Bailey Connor.

_**(Spencer's flashback) **_

_**"Hi, I'm Bailey Jennings. What's your name?"**_

_**He looked up from where he was sitting on the sidewalk, and saw an unfamiliar girl smiling down at him. He looked over her shoulder and saw moving trucks parked outside of the house next to his own, which no one had lived in for nearly 2 years. "I'm Spencer." He said, finally.**_

_**"I just moved in next door. How old are you? I'm six." She told him. He looked at her blonde hair, blue hair, and friendly smile and took it all in. **_

_**"I'm six, too." He answered.**_

_**"That's cool." She said. "Whatcha doin'?"**_

_**"I'm trying to calculate how many pieces of grass are in an average 1 foot by 1 foot square." He replied.**_

_**Bailey raised an eyebrow. "Oh...there's probably like, a billion."**_

_**"That's impossible." He said.**_

_**"Oh."**_

_**They stood there for a few minutes in silence.**_

_**"Do you wanna go and play or something?" She finally asked. **_

_**"Sure." He said, getting up and placing his magnifying glass in his pocket.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

"Reid...do you know her?" Hotch asked him.

"Yes! I've known her since I was six!" He said in disbelief. "We're friends...her husband just called me and said that she went missing earlier today around 9:30." He ran a hand through his hair. "I have to call him back..." He went to pull out his cell phone, but Hotch stopped him.

"Spencer." He said, for once using his first name. "Just calm down."

Spencer nodded and took a few deep breaths, and swallowed hard.

"Now," Hotch went on, "How well do you know Bailey?"

"I probably know her better than her own mother. Maybe even more than her husband does. Maybe." He let out his breath. "I've known her since I was six." He repeated. "We were neighbors..." He trailed off, then began again with a different sentence. "I just saw her last week..."

"Why don't we just finish the video...maybe you'll see something odd about what Bailey does that we would normally miss." Hotch said to Spencer.

Spencer sighed, then nodded yes in reply. He sat down in his usual seat.

The video began again.

"M-my name is Bailey Connor. I am 30 years old. I have been marked as Number Five, which means that I am the fifth to be k-killed. If you don't find me and the others, I will die a w-week after Betsy. P-please help me...I have a husband and a baby girl and all I want to do is go home."

The video went dark. Another girl was shown on the screen.

"Wait, wait, go back." Spencer said to Garcia.

Garcia played the video back to Spencer, but, when it was over, she sighed and shook his head.

"Never mind...I thought I saw something, but..." He sighed. "...but I guess not."

They began to play the tape from the end of Bailey's speech, and they heard from 3 other girls: Lindsey Verget, Hailey Stevens, and Mollie Maladro. Each of the girls said the same speech as the other girls, only personalizing it with their own name and family life.

However, the end of the tape was the most interesting.

The unsub looked over all of the girls, told them that they had done a 'great job', and then lined them all up so that the camera captured them all. He then walked infront of the camera, showed his face to the BAU, and smiled.

"Hello, BAU agents," He began to talk. "I just wanted to wish you all...good luck."

He smiled once more, directly into the camera, then walked over to it and turned it off.

"Garcia," Spencer spoke up. "Could you rewind that to where the unsub says 'hello, BAU agents'?"

She nodded and rewound the tape.

"And zoom in on Bailey's face, please."

The unsub began to speak. "Hello, BAU agents."

Bailey's eyebrows shot up, and her mouth fell open slightly. A look that seemed to be relief passed over her face.

Garcia paused the video.

"Bailey knows that I work at the BAU. She knows that I'm - that we - are coming to save her. Didn't you see her face? She** knows**." Spencer said, getting a little too excited.

"Yes, but first we still have to **find** her, Reid." Rossi said, bringing him back down to reality.

Spencer sighed. He suddenly felt how everyone in the room was watching his every move, and he hated it. "I should call Jake back. Let him know where Bailey is." He said, mostly to himself, and he hurried out of the office.


	2. Family

Meagan :)

Chapter 2

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Sorry for the bit of a wait...R&R and I hope you like it. :)

Chapter 1

Spencer stood outside of the BAU, his cell phone in his hand. He was feeling much too crowded inside, surrounded by concerned colleagues. It wasn't as though_** they **_actually had ever known Bailey. The only person who he had ever even mentioned her to was JJ.

Only a couple of months after JJ old everyone that she was pregnant, Bailey became pregnant with Anne Marie, whom was nicknamed Anni, and then asked Spencer to be her godfather. He had told JJ this the next morning at the BAU, rather honored that he had been asked twice- not to mention by two completely different people- to be a godfather.

Spencer leaned against the brick wall of the Quantico Headquarters and remembered the day Bailey had told him she was going to have a baby.

_**(Spencer's Flashback)**_

_**"Spencer," Bailey and Spencer were sitting on the couch in her living room, talking to each other about this and that and everything in between. "I have to tell you something rather important."**_

_**"What is it?" Spencer looked at her quizzically, trying to guess what it could be.**_

_**"Well..." Bailey took a deep breath, nervous, and she smiled at him slightly. "Jake and I are..." She trailed off and began again. " I'm pregnant."**_

_**Spencer looked at her for a few seconds in silence, absorbing what she had just told him. Finally he smiled brightly. "Bailey, that's great news! That's...that's amazing!"**_

_**Bailey smiled back at him and let out a little laugh. "I was so nervous about telling you! I mean, I haven't told anyone yet, not even my parents and we just found out today and it's been driving me absolutely crazy and I knew I just had to tell someone and you were coming over so I decided to tell you first and I'm talking way too fast, aren't I?" Bailey took a deep breath and smiled at Spencer. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'm just so happy." **_

_**"You should be. You're going to be a great mother, Bailey." Spencer told her. She beamed up at him and hugged him again.**_

_**"You have no idea how much that means to me right now." She mumbled into his shoulder. When she pulled away, she began to talk again. "Oh, and Reid," She called him by his last name, which they used to do all of the time whenever they were about nine years old. At the time, Spencer was called Reid and Bailey was called Jennings, but now that Bailey and Jake were married, Spencer called her Connor. They now only ever played the game occasionally, however, so it hardly mattered. **_

_**"Yeah?" He asked her.**_

_**"Jake and I haven't really discussed much yet about the baby, but we did talk about a few things, and..." Bailey played with a string of her hair. "We want you to be the godfather."**_

_**"Me?" Spencer's eyebrows shot up, showing that he was a bit surprised. "Why me?"**_

_**"Well, why not?" Bailey replied. "I've known you since forever and you've hardly ever let me down. Plus, you're already a godfather and know way more about babies than me and Jake do."**_

_**Spencer gave a little laugh.**_

_**"So, is that a yes?" She asked him hopefully.**_

_**"Have I ever said no to you?" He replied.**_

_**Bailey smiled at him. "Well yes, but I'll pretend they didn't happen."**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Spencer sighed and stood up straight. He started to dial Jake's number into his phone. He held the phone up to his ear and listened to it ring. It only rang one-and-a-half times before Jake picked up.

"Hello?" His voice sounded anxious and worried.

"Hi Jake. It's Spencer."

"Oh hi...do you have any news on Bailey?"

"Actually...yes. We do." Spencer said. "We recieved a video from her kidnapper. It appears that she is the not the only girl who was taken. As of this moment she's safe but..." Spencer trailed off. "That's all I know so far."

"Oh no'..." Jake mumbled to himself. "Okay...well just call me when you learn _anything_, okay? And Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't let anything happen to Bailey." Jake said softly.

"You know I would never let that happen."

"I know. And thank you for that." Jake let out a sigh of slight relief.

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Spencer re-entered the BAU office, where everyone was still discussing the video. He sat down in his seat and nodded at them to continue. JJ smiled softly at him.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

"Okay...considering what's happened." He responded.

She nodded and began to fill him in quietly on what they had been talking about.

On the white board, the words "Week One, Day One" were written in blue Expo marker. JJ explained that they were keeping track of how much longer they had until the unsub killed his first victim at the end of the week. Spencer hoped that they would find everyone before they reached week two, but he knew that the chances were rather slim at the moment, considering they had just about nothing to work with.

They had no idea where these girls were, what they had in common, or who they were dealing with. Garcia had tried to match the unsub's face in her facial recognition database, but he seemed to have no record of any kind...or he was just very good at getting away without being caught.

"We should begin to visit the different abduction sights." Hotchner said to them all. "We do not know where all of these girls lived or were last seen, so we are still checking missing persons for a few of them. In the meantime, JJ, Morgan, and Reid, go to Bailey Connor's house, and Prentiss, Rossi and I will go to Allison Grasso's home." Before everyone began to leave, Hotchner told Morgan and JJ one last thing.

"Make sure his head is in a good place." He looked over at Spencer. They both nodded and went on their way.

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"You make a left here, go straight through the next light, and then turn left again onto Herr Street." Spencer told Morgan.

"You visit Bailey a lot, don't you?" Morgan asked him.

Spencer nodded. "Whenever we can. It was weird whenever I first moved out to New Jersey because she wasn't my next-door neighbor anymore. It was he first time we had ever been seperated for more than a week or so."

"Why did Bailey end up moving to New Jersey, too?" JJ asked him.

"She claimed that she would rather go to college in New Jersey and set up a clinic here than in Nevada. But _**I **_just think that she missed me too much." Spencer replied.

Morgan and JJ both gave him a little smile.

"Now turn right on Penny Street. Her address is 422." Spencer told Morgan. He did as told, and parked the car next to the curb across the street from Bailey and Jake's house.

It was a rather large house in a pleasent neighborhood, and it was well-kept. The yard had recently been cut and the flowers in the garden were vibrant. The driveway was covered in chalk drawings, yet to be washed away.

Spencer, Morgan and JJ all crossed the street and walked up the sidewalk to the house in silence. Spencer seemed to be in a slight daze, and Morgan and JJ shared a worried glance.

Spencer reached the door first and knocked three times. He had barely taken his hand away from the door when Jake opened it. Jake was holding Anni in his arms, and his eyes were filled with complete worry.

"Hi, Jake." Spencer said awkwardly, not sure what else to say. "Uh...can we come in?"

"Yeah, of course." Jake opened the door wider and the three agents walked in. The inside of the house was even nicer than the outside, and it was almost pristine, excluding the baby's toys that littered the floor.

"This is Agent Jeroe and Agent Morgan." Spencer said quickly to Jake. Both Morgan and JJ nodded 'hello'.

"Hi." Jake said to them both. He reached out and shook their hands. "Do you have any news on Bailey?"

Before anyone could respond, Anni let out a loud shriek of delight, her arms reaching out towards Spencer.

"Here, I'll take her." Spencer said to Jake.

"Okay. Do you wanna see Uncle Spencer?" Jake asked his daughter, a forced smile on his face. He handed Anni to her god father. Spencer smiled at her.

"Hey Anni." He said to her. She let out a giggle and began to play with his shirt collar.

"We haven't really gotten any more news. We were just hoping you could talk us through what happened earlier, if you're up to it." JJ answered Jake's earlier question.

Jake took a shaky breath and nodded.

He led them into the family room, and pointed to a spot on the carpet. "Bailey was playing with Anni. I came down about 9:25. I was about to go in for work, but Bailey asked me to stay and watch Anni for a few more minutes."

"Why?" Morgan asked him.

"She had left the car parked on the wrong side of the street and it's street cleaning day. So she went outside to move it." Jake explained.

"And that's where the abduction happened?" JJ asked him.

Jake nodded. "After a few minutes, I looked out of the window, but I didn't see her. And I knew something was wrong, because she hadn't even moved the car. I called the police, but they gave me that shit about having to wait 48 hours before I could file a report. So I waited a little while, and then I called Spencer."

"And what time was that, Reid?" Morgan, having not gotten a response from Spencer, looked up from his notepad. "Reid?"

He saw Spencer focusing his attention mainly between Anni and the window. He stared at the spot where Jake and Bailey's car was parked, and then looked back to his godchild, who was now amusing herself with his tie.

"Spencer." JJ laid her hand on his arm, and he gave a itiny jump, shocked.

'Sorry." He cleared his throat and blushed softly. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna take a look outside. At Bailey's car." He rubbed his finger gently across Anni's cheek once before he handed her back to her father.

Morgan, JJ and Jake all watched him silently as he left the house.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	3. Dreaming

Meagan :)

Chapter 3

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Hope you like it :)

Chapter 3

Spencer sat at the BAU, attempting to concentrate on filing papers. He hadn't bothered going home, as late as it was; he knew that he would get no sleep, so it was best if he wasted away the night being productive. He looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It read 2:15 am. He sighed. It felt to him as though it was so much later.

He yawned and debated on whether or not he should try to go to sleep. Finally, he decided on staying at the BAU and working. Anyway, if he did go home, all he would end up doing would be laying in bed, awake, wondering about Bailey. Or, if he actually _**did**_ fall asleep, he would end up having horribly realistic dreams about her and what was happening to her. He sighed. If only his mind didn't produce such horrifying dreams...

_**(Flashback)**_

_**"Spencer." Bailey shook his shoulder gently, and he woke up with a jolt. He looked around the room, becoming aware of where he was.**_

_**Bailey was sitting up at one end of her couch, and he was laying down at the other end. The TV across the room was on a very low volume, but a picture of Quaker Oats could still be seen on the screen. He came to the realization that he and Bailey must have fallen asleep while watching **__**Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory**__**. They watched a movie together almost every Friday night, and usually he went home after it was over, but tonight they both had fallen asleep on the sofa.**_

_**Spencer's heart slowly began to go back to a normal pace and his breathing slowed. **_

_**"It's only a dream..." He told himself silently.**_

_**"Are you okay?" Bailey asked him. "You were talking in your sleep. Really loudly." She yawned and sat up taller.**_

_**"Sorry." He said, playing with a string on the blanket covering him. "I had a bad dream."**_

_**Bailey nodded.**_

_**"It's pretty dumb, isn't it?" He asked her. "I mean, I **__**still**__** get scared of a dream."**_

_**"A genious like you can't be perfect." She smiled, and then shrugged. "Hey, I'm 15, too and I still get nightmares." She paused. "What were you dreaming about?"**_

_**"I always have this one dream that's the same." He replied. "I don't know why, but it never changes. I'm in a basement, and I find a dead kid. And there's a man there...but I can't tell who it is." He sighed. "Whatever. It's just a dream."**_

_**They were quiet for a few moments before Bailey spoke up. "I always have dreams about my dad." She said. Bailey, her older sister Caroline and their mother had all run away from their father, who was an abusive alcoholic with a horrible temper. Even though they were safe in Vegas, hundreds of miles away from Jacksonville, Florida, that didn't stop Bailey from fearing and hating her father.**_

_**"Are you gunna be able to fall back asleep?" She asked Spencer.**_

_**"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied.**_

_**"Okay." Bailey said, laying back down on her end of the sofa. "Goodnight. See you in the morning."**_

_**"Goodnight." Spencer echoed, and within minutes he was asleep once again.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Spencer looked back over the physical evidence they had gathered. Basically, all that they had were pictures of the same tire treads at all of the abduction sites and the video the unsub had sent, which he had gone over about 20 times, and still saw nothing important on it. The words on a paper he was looking at became blurry. He sighed and laid his head down on his desk until sleep finally came.

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Morgan walked in the next day, only to find Spencer asleep. Morgan sighed and walked over to him.

"Yo, Sleeping Beauty." He slapped Spencer on the back. "Wake up."

Spencer sat up and yawned. "I wasn't asleep."

"Yeah, sure you weren't." Morgan said sarcastically. His mood suddenly became serious. "Reid, I'm gunna ask you this because I'm worried about you. Are you...okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Spencer asked him.

"Well...this case is personal for you, and-"

Spencer cut off Morgan. "I'm fine! I just want to find Bailey." He walked away, and Morgan sighed. JJ walked over, having witnessing what had just happened.

"Here, let me try talking to him." She said, and she went to where Spencer was standing, next to the coffee maker.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hi JJ." He responded.

"Have you talked to Jake since yesterday? Is he doing okay?" JJ asked him.

Spencer nodded. "He's still shaken up but he's okay. He said that Anni is starting to realize that Bailey isn't around, and it's making her upset."

"Oh." JJ replied. "So...how are _**you**_ doing?"

Spencer was quiet for a while. When he finally spoke, he didn't look at JJ. Instead, he kept his glance on the carpet, as though he was talking to it, not JJ.

"I honestly don't know."

He grabbed his coffee and turned back towards his desk. JJ watched him, worried.

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The day flew by with hardly any leads, and still there was not another message from the unsub, or a dead body, so they could not yet make a profile. Everyone was aware that it was "Week One, Day 3", which meant that Allison Grasso only had four days left to live.

By now, all of the families of the victims had been contacted and interviewed, and all said the same thing: on the first day of the week, like Bailey, they were taken from outside of their homes while they did ordinary tasks. Mollie Maladro, Girl Number 8, had a husband who saw a dark blue SUV speed away from outside of their home, and it was believed that it belonged to the unsub.

Around 6:30 pm, Spencer and JJ were talking softly about Bailey. While they were doing this, a woman, a man, and Hotch all walked up to them.

"Here he is." Hotch said to the couple behind him.

"Thank you." The woman said, and the man nodded in agreement. Hotch looked at Spencer one last time, then walked away from them all.

The lady gave Spencer a quick hug, and then started to talk. "We got on the first flight to New Jersey after Jake told us. Do you know where she is? Is she okay?" She began to ask Spencer.

"Well...I probably should go." JJ said.

"No, it's fine." Spencer replied. "This is Bailey's sister Caroline, and her husband Chris." Spencer looked at the couple. "And this is JJ. We work together."

After JJ shook both their hands, Caroline began to talk again.

"So you're helping to find Bailey? Do you have any clue about what happened?"

JJ and Spencer shared a look. JJ answered Caroline. "We don't exactly have that much of a clear picture about what happened yet. Bailey should be okay...for now. But we need to get some good leads soon."

Caroline nodded and chewed on her fingernail.

Caroline and Bailey looked very much alike. Both had blond, wavy hair and blue eyes. They had the same narrow nose and facial structure. There were only few differences in their physical appearence, the main being that Caroline was taller and curvier, and that she had a small scar under her left eye.

"Do you two have a place to stay?" Spencer asked them.

Chris nodded. "My aunt is letting us stay at her place until Bailey..." He faded out and did not complete his sentence. Spencer was about to reply, but Rossi called down to him and JJ from the meeting room above.

"Reid, JJ. Hurry up here. It's important." He called.

Spencer took off and hurried up the stairs, leaving Caroline and Chris next to his desk, confused.

Spencer reached the room and ran in, with JJ coming in behind him. Rossi and Garcia stood at the front of the room, and the look on their faces showed that something bad had just happened. When everyone had entered the room, Garcia began.

"The unsub sent me a video directly to my computer this time. And before anyone asks, no, it's not traceable. And trust me, this is one sicko that we're dealing with." She typed a few things into her laptop, and the video was shown to everyone.

The unsub appeared in front of the camera. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and he had a look of anger on his face . "So, you think that you can trick me? That you can just mess up my plan? You can't mess me up, you know! You won't take her back so easily. She's _**mine**_."

Everyone in the meeting room stared at the screen, confused. The unsub went on.

"Get over here." He hissed to a girl off-screen.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I swear!" She cried.

Spencer stared at the video. "That's Bailey." He muttered. "That's her."

"GET OVER HERE!" The unsub screamed. Bailey walked out next to him, and was shown in the video. She was shaking from crying.

"That's a good girl." The unsub smiled at her in such a way that it sent chills up Spencer's spine.

"So, as I learned, one of you knows this girl." The unsub said to the camera. "And that one of you would do anything to get her back." The unsub pulled Bailey down next to him, and then sat her on his lap. She began to shake even more. "But," The unsub paused and ran a hand through Bailey's hair. "You won't be able to."

Bailey let out a sob.

"Aren't you happy with me?" The unsub asked Bailey. She didn't reply.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" The unsub screamed.

"Yes, I'm happy! I'm really, really happy." Bailey cried.

"You see?" The unsub looked into the camera. "You'll never find her. You've only got 5 weeks. It'll be too late, and then she'll be with me. Forever." He gave Bailey another creepy smile, and then walked up slowly to the camera. He got close to the lens, and whispered softly.

"Good luck, Spencer."

The camera went dark.

Spencer stared at the black screen, waiting for something more to happen, even though he knew that the video was over. _**Good luck, Spencer.**_ The unsub's taunt swirled around in his mind, and Spencer clenched his fists in anger.

To Be Continued


	4. Allison

Meagan :)

Chapter 4

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Reviews are nice :) Sorry it took so long...I've been so busy! Next chap will be better and longer, I promise. :)

Chapter 4

Spencer stared at the car keys that he held in his hand, then switched his glance back to the white board in front of him. It was covered with information about the missing girls, and he had already read all of it at least 40 times. He knew that he wouldn't find any new leads from looking at it, but it gave him some relief to see the picture of Bailey, smiling and unharmed, hanging from it.

He pondered over how the unsub had known his name, and even more importantl, how he knew that he was Bailey's best friend. Eventually, he came up with two possibilities. One was that the unsub was watching the BAU, which scared the shit out of him, and the second possibility was that Bailey had blurted it out, which was probably the more logical explanation. He could all but hear her talking to the unsub now: _"You sent that video of us to my friend Spencer, and he's going to find us all before you can do anything about it."_ But, sadly, that wasn't true. The unsub was way ahead of the BAU, and it was Week One: Day Six, which left Allison with little time left, and all of the other girls with one less week. The unsub's taunting words from the day before flew around in Spencer's mind.

He looked over the white board one last time, looked down at the car keys in his hand, and turned towards the BAU door.

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"Hotch, he's not in a good state of mind. If we let him go any further-"

"Morgan." Hotch cut him off midway through his sentence. Morgan was in Hotch's office, and they were in the middle of having a conversation about whether or not Spencer would be able to continue the investigation, considering how close he was to Bailey. "If we take him of the case, he's just going to end up conducting a solo investigation. That wouldn't end well, and you know it."

"But-" Morgan began again.

"Morgan." Hotch repeated.

Morgan held his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay." He said reluctantly. He was about to leave the office when JJ walked in.

"Oh, sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt, but...have you guys seen Spencer? I've looked everywhere, and his car isn't in the parking lot."

"What?" Morgan gave her a quizzical look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, he parks in the same spot every day." She sighed. "Maybe I should go over to his house to see if he's there. I know it sounds silly, but I'm a bit worried about him."

"I know what you mean. I'll go with you." Morgan shot Hotch one last this-won't-end-well look over his shoulder before he and JJ walked out of the office.

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They pulled up in front of a modest house about 15 minutes later. Spencer's car was parked out front, and JJ gave a small sigh of relief.

"Good, he's here." She mumbled.

"Morgan unbuckled his seat belt. "Now let's go find out why."

He and JJ got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk to the front door. They rang the doorbell once. After a minute, still no one came to answer.

"Hmm." JJ muttered as she knocked on the door. Still, no answer.

"Spencer, it's JJ and Morgan." She called. Still, no one answered the door.

JJ sighed and started to walk back to the car.

"What are you doing?" Morgan called. JJ didn't respond; instead, she walked up to Spencer's mailbox and opened it up.

"Why are you going through his mail?" He called again. JJ reached into the back of the mailbox. When she took her arm out, she held a key in her fingers.

"What the-" Morgan mumbled to himself.

JJ walked back up to him. "He told me that he kept the spare key taped to the inside of his mailbox. I never thought that I would ever need it." She shrugged. "I was wrong."

She inserted the key into the lock, and the door opened. They stepped inside of his house quietly. The lights were off, and JJ flipped the switch on.

"Reid? You in here, man?" Morgan called. Still no reply. JJ frowned in slight worry. They walked into the living room. Hundreds of papers were stacked on a little table in the middle of the room. A laptop sat on top of one stack in the midde of the table. There were a few pictures hanging on the walls and sitting on ledges. Morgan saw a familiar blonde in the one picture out of the corner of his eye, and he walked over to it. It was a picture of Bailey, Jake and Spencer outside of a Las Vegas casino, smiling brightly, caught up in the moment. Bailey was in the middle of the two men, with her arms wrapped around them both. It took Morgan a few seconds to realize that Bailey was in her wedding gown, and that Spencer and Jake were in tuxedos.

"Hey JJ, check this out. Reid's wearing a tux." Morgan said with a chuckle.

"Okay, but first look at this one." JJ said from across the room. Morgan was walking over to see what picture she was talking about when he heard a voice from behind him.

"What are you guys doing in my house?"

JJ gasped in shock, and even Morgan was a bit surprised.

"Yo, Reid, don't scare us like that." He said. Spencer rubbed his eyes and yawned, and it was obvious that he had been asleep.

"_Me_ scaring _you_? I was rudely awakened to find my house being 'robbed'." Spencer sat the gun that he had been holding down on the table, next to the scattered papers. "And then I realized that it was just you two."

"Okay, well nap time's over. You can drive us back to the BAU." Morgan tossed his keys across the room to Spencer.

_(__**SPENCER'S FLASHBACK)**_

_**Spencer failed to catch the keys that Bailey tossed to him, and they landed softly in the green yard. **_

_**"You have absolutely no hand-eye coordination." She laughed.**_

_**"In my defense, the sun is directly in my eyes." He argued.**_

_**"Uh huh. Sure." Bailey rolled her eyes.**_

_**"Bailey, be nice. Spencer's not going to want to be around you anymore if you keep treating him like this." Bailey's mother, Erin, warned gently from the porch. **_

_**"It's okay Ms. Erin." Spencer said with a smile in Bailey's direction. "She's just jealous that I'm older and can drive before she can."**_

_**Bailey crossed her arms playfully. "So not true! And it's only 3 months. Big deal!" She smiled. "At least I have a permit."**_

_**"Well I have a license." Spencer taunted. Bailey rolled her eyes and smiled. **_

_**"Yeah, well you're almost out of college and just got your license today. And I'm a Junior in high school and I'm getting it in a few months." Bailey stuck her tongue at at Spencer.**_

_**"Seriously guys. It doesn't matter who's driving, you're not going to get anywhere on time if you just stand here and argue." Bailey's sister rolled her eyes and got into her own car.**_

_**"She's right. For once." Bailey said. She smiled, her eyes wide in anticipation. "Let's go!"**_

_**Bailey hurried into Spencer's small car. Spencer followed her and got into the driver's seat. As soon as he put the key in the ignition, Bailey blasted the radio. She began to sing to a Michael Jackson song that was on. **_

_**"You kids be safe now." Erin called from the porch. Spencer could barely hear her over all of the noise.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

It was only a matter of time before they came upon the four way intersection. It was only a matter of time before the drunk driver skipped the stop sign and crashed into the passenger seat window of Spencer's car. And it was only a matter of time before Spencer and Bailey ended up in the hospital.

Both of them had concussions, and Bailey fractured her ankle, but they were out of the hospital within the next three days. Bailey wasn't scarred by the accident at all, and she passed her driving test a few months later. However, Spencer took things a bit more personally. He had no problem with driving...as long as he was the only person in the car. Every time he had to drive someone else with him, it was as though he forgot every rule of driving.

Spencer caught the keys that Morgan tossed him, and then threw them back. "I'd rather not."

"Spencer, we all don't want to go to work, but we all have to do it anyway." He replied.

"No, I have no problem with going back to work. I shouldn't have left in the first place. I meant I don't want to drive." Spencer explained.

"Oh. Well suit yourself." Morgan shrugged and walked out of the house with Spencer and JJ behind him.

They got into JJ's car, with JJ driving, Morgan in the passenger seat, and Spencer in the back. It was quiet for a few moments before JJ spoke to Spencer.

"I saw a picture in your house of you and Bailey. Did you guys go to prom together?" She tried to make some conversation.

"Yeah we did. But we weren't, you know, dating." Spencer replied. "Her boyfriend broke up with her two days before, so she asked me...well actually, she _informed_ me that I was going to prom with her. It was pretty fun."

"Oh." JJ responded. "So...did you guys ever go out?"

"No. We were always just friends."

"Oh." JJ repeated herself. She tried to find ways to keep the conversation going, while avoiding the topic of why Spencer went home, but Morgan had a completely different plan.

"So, Reid, c'mon. Why did you go home?" He asked seriously.

"Spencer shrugged. "I don't know. I was tired."

"That's not the only reason, and you know it." Morgan replied.

After a few moments of silence, Spencer finally blurted out the answer he had felt deep inside. "No offense, but I know her better than anyone, and I'm pretty sure that I could do a better job alone finding her than what the BAU can do."

Morgan gave JJ a look out of the corner of his eye. "Look man, we're only trying to help. We want Bailey back just as much as you do."

Spencer sighed. "No one else from the BAU wants her back more than I do."

They all remained silent for the rest of the car ride. It was only a short drive back to the BAU, but it seemed like eternity for the three people in the car.

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_**The Next Day**_

Twenty-Two hours later, at 10:07 am, the unsub sent his first tormenting video to the BAU, as though to prove that he killed Allison Grasso. As they sat around watching the video, Spencer, and most of the ohers in the room, knew that this would be the same horrible death Bailey would suffer...unless they found some leads soon.

Garcia logged onto her email account, obviously disturbed.

"I don't know how on earth he found out my name and my email, but this man is sick. Just plain sick. That poor baby girl. And he had the nerve to send it to _**my**_ email!" She muttered under her breath as she pulled up the video from the unsub. The email address it had been sent under was untracable, and had been sent under the name of ".com". It became obvious that the unsub was quite cocky.

The unsub still didn't feel the need to cover up his face with a mask. He seemed to know that he wasn't in the system, and that knowing that he had brown hair and green eyes had no importance to the BAU. The video began, with the unsub talking in a calm and collected voice.

**"Hello BAU agents. It's nice to talk to you again. I hope you're as excited for this as I am." He smiled toward the camera, and then turned his face away. "Allison..." He softly called out her name. She appeared from the left side of the camera. She had on no visable restraints, but something obviously kept her from running away. **

**"You get to be first. Everyone else will be jealous of you." The unsub ran his fingers through her hair, and she jumped, as though his touch was acid on her skin.**

**"Sick bastard." Allison muttered. She spit on his shoe. The unsub's expression changed, and the calmness he had just possessed vanished. His eyes filled with anger.**

**"YOU will treat ME will respect! You are nothing! You are absolutely NOTHING! If you were something, they would have come to save you by now, you bitch!" He slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. The unsub suddenly seemed almost confused about what had just happened, as though he couldn't remember his outburst that occured just seconds before.**

**"Get up, Allison." He said in almost a gentle way. She got off the floor, crying horribly. **

**"I don't want to die. Please don't make me die. Please. I'll do anything." She cried.**

**"Allison, you aren't going to die." The unsub gave her a smile. "You're going to be reborn."**

**He took out a knife and stabbed her once. She gave out a cry and fell to the ground. He continued to stab her on the ground, even after she had stopped breathing. When he stood back up, he was covered in her blood. He smiled at the camera.**

**"You're welcome. I'll be back next week." He reached out his hand, and the video ended.**

No one at BAU said anything, for there was nothing good to say.

To Be Continued

(TBC)


	5. Profile

Meagan Style :)

Chapter 3

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Ahh! Sorry I haven't been posting...I'm always so busy! :) But I hope you all like this next chapter...I'm going to tie up some loose ends. It probably won't be as long and suspenseful as the others, but it should make the story make more sense :) R&R PLEASE! :) Oh, and also, because I started the story with JJ, I'm going to keep her in it even though she's already been taken off the show.

Chapter 3

"Okay, so let's go over what we do know." Hotch said. He was standing next to the white board, surrounded by the members of the BAU. They had begun to start a profile for the unsub, and it was coming together rather well.

"The unsub is attractive and personable. He was most likely able to lure the women away from their homes with his personality and charm, and then overpower them." Morgan said first.

"He is also pretty cocky. He isn't afraid to let us see his face, and he sent the video directly to Garcia." Spencer added. Although he was a bit shaken up, he was eager to help in any way he could to find Bailey. Not to mention that work was a good distraction from letting his imagination run wild.

"You know, I have a theory." Prentiss, who had been quiet the entire session, suddenly spoke up. "Look at the faces of all of these girls." Everyone turned to the white board. "They all have blonde hair and blue eyes, and they're all beautiful. In fact, they almost look similar to each other. What if they remind the unsub of someone in his life? Like a sister or a girlfriend. He could be killing them because they remind him of someone who hurt him."

"That's possible." Hotch said. "He could have suffered from a trauma. The death of a girlfriend, maybe." He looked at Garcia. "I know it's a long shot, but could you pull up any record of blonde haired, blue-eyed girls between the ages of 30 and 40 who have died in the past five years within a 100 mile radius?"

"I could, but I'm sure it ill get a billion hits." She responded.

"I know, but it's all we have for now." Hotch told her. She nodded and disappeared out of the door to her 'lair'.

"Okay, let's keep rolling on." Rossi said. "The unsub's outburst. It was almost as though he wasn't in control of himself. Like he couldn't stop himself from acting as he did."

"And then he looked as though he didn't know what was going on. He probably has a severe medical condition. Bipolarism, maybe." Spencer suggested.

"It was probably triggered by whatever trauma he suffered." Hotch said. His marker squealed against the board as he wrote everything down.

"And then the stabbing." Morgan said. "That was overkill."

"Which supports my theory that this is personal to him." Prentiss added. Morgan nodded.

"This man obviously has a few medical problems with himself. He probably suffers from delusions as well. We need to find him before he goes on a complete rampage and starts killing every blonde girl in his sight." Morgan replied.

"I don't think he would do that. At least, not soon." Spencer said.

"Why not?" Morgan asked him.

Spencer thought back to the video. "He kills the girls one at a time, in a certain order, exactly a week apart. He has to be organized. He won't go on a rampage. He won't even consider it until after he kills all seven of these girls."

"Reid's right." Hotch agreed. "But even still, we need to find him before this week is up." He pointed to the picture of Brenda , Girl #2, on the white board. "Or else Brenda's time is up."

Everyone nodded and realized the urgency of the situation. But without even knowing where the unsub and the girls he had captive were located, it seemed nearly impossible that they could save Brenda in time.

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Garcia hurried up to Morgan about an hour later, her vibrant yellow headband bouncing with her every step.

"Derek, have you seen Hotch?" She asked him.

"No. What is it, baby girl?" He replied, looking down at the manila envelope she held in her arms.

"Here." She handed the folder to him. "It's the list of the blonde girls that Hotch wanted me to look up."

Morgan whistled under his breath. "Wow. That's a long list." The folder had at least 100 different girls that matched the description.

"I know." She agreed. "But that's all I have for now. If I had more variables maybe I could shorten the list. I may be a miracle worker, but I'm not that good."

He gave her a little smile. "Well this is a start. Thanks, Garcia. I'll give these to Hotch."

"Thanks." She replied. She looked around the room. "Have you seen Reid?"

Morgan sighed. "No. I'm just hoping that he didn't leave the BAU - again."

"He left?" Garcia asked him, a bit worried and confused.

"Yeah. He went home and went to sleep. JJ and I had to go and get him." He frowned. "I think he should be taken off the case, but Hotch doesn't think so."

"That poor baby boy." Garcia frowned in concern. "I wish we could just reach out and save his friend from all of this. She's just a kid, really."

"So is Reid." Morgan added. "And stuff like this shouldn't happen to good people like them."

Garcia gave a small nod of agreement, turned on her heel, and left Morgan with his own thoughts.

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Spencer sat in the break room, trying hard to think about anything except for Bailey. Finally, he decided that it was pointless. He took out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write a letter to his mother.

_Dear Mom,_

_Things here are still not well, as I've been telling you in my other letters. Bailey is still missing, and we aren't sure where she is yet. Actually, I'm not sure if we ever will know. It's a sick game that the unsub is playing with us, and I'm tired of it._

_You do remember Bailey, don't you? Your memory may be clouded by your medication._

Spencer sighed. How could he even begin to describe Bailey?

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Spencer sat at the dinner table, across from his father and next to his mother.**

**"Spencer got a new little friend today." Diana Reid told her husband. "Didn't you Spencer?"**

**Six-year-old Spencer nodded yes in reply.**

**"Oh, really? Tell me about him, son." His father, William, said.**

**"She's a her." Spencer corrected.**

**"Oh, really?" William repeated himself. "What's her name?"**

**"Bailey Christine Jennings." Spencer replied, being very precise (as always) with his answer.**

**William nodded and took a bite of the chicken on his plate. "Is she the girl who just moved in next door? I saw her mother this morning when I was leaving for work. She seemed nice enough." **

**Diana agreed. "I need to remember to bake her a batch of welcoming cookies." She tuned back to her son. "So what is Bailey like? You two must have been having fun - you were with her for nearly all day."**

**"She's nice." Spencer said. "We went down to the park and were swinging. She's really funny and she talks a whole lot. I think we're going to hang out again tomorrow."**

**Diana gave him a smile, and glanced at her husband with a twinkle in her eyes. "So...do you like her?"**

**Before Spencer could answer, his father gave him a little smile from across the table. "Well, I'll be darned. My son has got himself his first girl friend!"**

**Spencer's face grew bright red, and he quickly replied to his father. "She isn't my girl friend! I just met her today anyway. And we aren't even going to be in school together. Plus, she's only going into the first grade." Spencer himself was going into the fifth grade, at only six years old.**

**His father held up his hands in defense. "We were just messing with you, son." He sent Diana a slight smile that said otherwise. "I'm sure she's just a wonderful girl."**

**(End Flashback)**

Before he could could continue, he heard someone enter the break room. He looked up to see JJ's face looking back at him.

"Hey." He said as cheerfully as he could. He slipped the letter back into his bag, and made a mental note to finish it later.

"Hey." She said in reply. She sat down across from him, and she placed her hand gently on his arm. "What are you thinking about in here?"

He shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm just thinking about growing up."

"With Bailey." JJ finished his sentence for him. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that Bailey's sister has been calling your phone like crazy." She placed Spencer's cell phone on the table. He looked at it, but didn't take it.

"I'm just scared to tell her that Bailey is still lost somewhere and that we have absolutely no clue as to where." Spencer sighed.

"Spence," JJ said softly. "You are one of the bravest people I know. You can make that call."

Before Spencer could inquire her, she gave him a little smile and left the break room. He sighed, and, after a moment, picked up the phone and dialed Caroline's number.

Only a few minutes later, Spencer was finishing up talking to Caroline. Hotch entered the break room and began to speak.

"Reid, they found Allison's body. She's been dumped on her husband's porch." Hotch signaled for Spencer to follow him.

"Spencer? Hello? Are you still there?" Caroline asked from the other end of the phone.

"I gotta go. I'll fill you in later." Spencer said quickly into the phone, and then hung up without saying goodbye.

**To Be Continued**


	6. Video

Meagan Style

Chapter 6

I Own Nothing

A/N: Hey guys :) Sorry for a bit of a wait...hope you all enjoy this chapter. Review Please :)

Chapter 6

Spencer sat quietly in the passenger seat of Hotch's SUV, waiting for them to arrive at Allison Grasso's home. Her body had been discovered on the front porch only about an hour before by her husband, and Hotch and Spencer were going to examine the scene.

Hotch looked over at Spencer out of the corner of his eye, upon noticing that the young man had been fidgeting nervously since they had begun to drive. He frowned slightly and began to talk to Spencer.

"You know, Jack does this thing with his hands when he gets nervous. He balls them up into fists, as tight as he can, and then he releases his fingers and starts all over again." Hotch said, making an unusual reference to his personal life. He nodded in the direction of Spencer's hands. "I can tell that you're nervous by the way that you're playing with your fingers."

Spencer let his hands fall down in his lap, and couldn't help but blush slightly. "I suppose that I am nervous."

"Reid, some people are saying that I should take you off of this case." Hotch said the words carefully and compassionatly. He knew that he was treading in deep water.

Spencer tensed up slightly. "I'm fine. Really."

"I want to believe you." Hotch said to him, truthfully.

"Honestly, I thought I was doing a pretty good job at keeping my head on straight. I mean, considering that Bailey is most likely going to..." He trailed off and sighed. He broke off eye contact with Hotch.

"All I'm saying is that I know what it's like when a case gets personal. Just remember that the best thing you can do is to keep professional and personal as seperate as you can." Hotch told him. Spencer nodded in agreement.

"I'm scared for her." Spencer said a short while later in a tiny voice, barely above a whisper.

A few slow minutes passed by, and Hotch realized that without conversation, the next twenty minutes that they had to spend in the car were going to be painfully long.

"Reid, I'm not asking this question to be intrusive, but I've been wondering..." Hotch began. "Have you and Bailey ever been 'intimate' with each other?"

Spencer felt his cheeks begin to burn a bright red, and he thought back to the summer that he and Bailey were fifteen years old.

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Spencer was sitting on Bailey's light blue carpet on a burning hot July day in basketball shorts and a light T-shirt. Her air conditioner was broken, and they were both seemingly dying of heat stroke in her room. Why they were even in her house instead of at his, where the air conditioner was working perfectly, never even passed through his mind.**

**Bailey was sitting on her bed, fanning herself with her choir folder from the previous school year. Spencer was trying rather hard to keep his eyes on her face as she spoke, but he was finding it increasingly difficult. He may have been a genius, but that didn't mean that he was blind. Anyone could look at Bailey and see that she was beyond average in means of her looks, and Spencer was noticing this more and more with each passing day. It had seemed that while he had been off at college for the year, and Bailey was enjoying being a freshman, that she had gotten even prettier than the previous year.**

**Bailey was wearing very short jean shorts and a tank top that was a bit low cut. She wasn't doing it to show off to him, but for the simple reason of trying to stay cool in the terribly hot Las Vegas weather. In fact, quite often Spencer wondered if Bailey even knew that he was slightly attracted to her. If she did, she was very good at hiding it.**

**Spencer began to listen once more to Bailey's story of how she and her boyfriend had broken up the week before, and how he was a jerk, and on and on and on. He found the story trivial, but Bailey put up with his quite quirky and educated conversations, and so he put up with her stories of drama and boys. **

**"Spencer, you need a girl friend." Bailey said in the middle of her story, abruptly.**

**He gave a little snort. "Are you going to play matchmaker with me?"**

**"I should." Bailey said, her tone of voice sounding a bit serious.**

**"Okay, you're actually serious?" Spencer raised an eyebrow.**

**"Yeah, why not?" Bailey shrugged.**

**Spencer gave a little laugh. "C'mon Bailey. Think about it. I'm fifteen, and at a college campus. My fellow classmates wouldn't dream of dating me."**

**Bailey frowned at him. "Stop being negative." She began to trail off and give him a lecture of how she was sure that many girls would like him if they gave him a chance. Spencer's eyes slowly trailed down from her face to her body and then back to her face, and wondered how someone like Bailey even gave him the light of day.**

**"Okay, Bailey, I get it. You find me a girl who's as pretty as you and maybe I'll consider it." Spencer said to her. Bailey's cheeks began to blush, and she stopped eye contact with him.**

**"Oh..." She muttered softly.**

**Spencer had never told Bailey that he considered her very pretty, and thinking about it, he was almost positive that no other male figure in her life had ever told her it before either. Her previous boyfriends were just school kids who hardly cared about giving her compliments, and certainly her father had never called her pretty, let alone say a nice word to her. Actually, her father had called her ugly and a disgrace to her mother and himself; Spencer knew that his insults had probably scarred Bailey even worse than the physical abuse.**

**"I mean it." Spencer said to her sincerely. "You're the prettiest girl that I know. On the inside and the outside."**

**Spencer saw Bailey's bottom lip start to tremble slightly, and he knew that he had touched a very sensitive spot in her heart. She jumped off of the bed and flung her arms around his neck, brought his head close to hers and kissed him. He was quite shocked, to say the least, and it took him a moment before he closed his eyes and kissed her back. After a few seconds she pulled away from him and gave him a smile.**

**"I love you, Spencer Reid, don't you ever forget that." She stood up and he looked up at her face, stunned.**

**"I-I won't. I love you, too." He managed to say.**

**Bailey smiled at him and went over to her bedroom door. She opened it and went to walk out of her room. "We have popsicles in the fridge. Let's get away from this heat."**

**Spencer remained sitting on her floor, his mouth slightly open, and Bailey was already at the bottom of the steps by the time he got up off of her carpet.**

**He and Bailey would never date or ever get any more intimate than that kiss, but from that moment on, he loved Bailey Jennings, and she loved him right back. And that was enough for the both of them.**

**(End Flashback)**

"Not in the way that you're suggesting." Spencer finally replied. Hotch nodded. Fair enough.

"We had - have I mean - more of a brother/sister relationship. Well kind of. Actually, no, not really." Spencer was beginning to get worked up about Bailey, and Hotch could tell, so he quickly cut him off before Spencer embarrassed himself.

"I know what you mean." Hotch said. He went to change the topic, but Spencer's phone rang.

"It's Garcia." He said. He snapped open the phone rather fast, not wanting to talk about Bailey anymore. "Hello?" He put the phone on speaker.

"Um, Spencer, you guys may want to come back to the BAU right now." Garcia had a slight urgency in her voice.

"What? Why?" Hotch frowned.

"This unsub is one messed up man. I mean seriously messed up in the-" Garcia went to ramble on, but Reid stopped her.

"Is Bailey alright?" He asked, anticipation in his heart.

"As far as I can see from this video, yes." Garcia responded.

"Whoa, wait. He sent another video?" Hotch asked her.

"Yes, that's why you need to come here. He sent an email - still untraceable - saying to be ready in twenty minutes for a live video chat." Garcia lowered her voice. "He said that we wouldn't want to miss the show. What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure." Hotch responded. He did an illegal U-turn in the middle of the street, causing a few drivers behind him to do some angry motions with their fingers. "Call the responding officers at Allison Grasso's house. Tell them we won't be able to come out. Reid and I will be back to Quantico is about twelve minutes."

Spencer shut the phone, a worried look on his face. A live video chat with the BAU? That was unusual for a serial killer, to say the least. This man was more confident and full of himself that what Spencer had originally guessed. And what had he meant by not wanting to miss 'the show'? What show? Spencer now worried more than ever for Bailey's safety.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Spencer and Hotch arrived at the BAU a short while later, and they both hurried into the building. No one was around in the bull-pin, so Spencer figured that they were aready with Garcia, waiting for the unsub's video to start.

They also went into Garcia's 'lair', and found everyone sitting around the computers.

"Is this like anything you've ever done before?" Morgan asked Hotch.

"No. But if you look at his motives, all that this man is showing off the fact that he can hurt and scare women. He's nothing to be impressed or intimidated by."

Morgan nodded. Garcia was drumming her finger onto her desk.

"I don't like this. This man has my personal email, he's sending scary things to my email, and I can't even figure out who he is!" She was getting annoyed with her software.

"It's okay. When this man messes up, you'll be the one who will be able to track him down and find him." Morgan said soothingly. Garcia frowned, but nodded.

"How many more minutes until the video comes on?" Spencer asked. Emily looked at the clock on the wall.

"About four minutes, give or take." She replied.

It was a very long four minutes for Spencer, and finally, when the time came, an icon popped up on Garcia's computer.

She pressed a few buttons and the unsub's face, still unmasked, appreared on the screen.

"Oh, I'm so glad you come have a...'chat' with me today." He gave them a smile.

'_He has a country accent. He may be from down south.' _Hotch wrote down on a piece of paper, in order to keep the unsub from hearing him.

Morgan was the first to speak out to the killer. "Where are you and the girls?"

The unsub smiled at him. There was a look on his face, and it appeared as though he was enjoying talking to the agents. "Oh we're somewhere close to you. Inside of a place."

"Son of a bitch." Morgan mumbled under his breath.

"Ah, watch your language now, Derek. You wouldn't want the ladies to hear you, now would you?" The unsub said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a word with Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Not unless you give us something first." Hotch said.

The unsub thought it over. "Alright. Fair is fair. Well...let's see here..." He thought over the question carefully. "My name is Eric. Now put on Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Wait a minute. How do we know that's your real name?" Hotch still held Spencer back from the webcam.

"Oh c'mon now, Spencer. You're free to make your own decisions, aren't you? How come on out of the shadows and let me have a talk with you." The unsub called out.

Hotch nodded to Spencer to show him that it was alright, and Spencer sat down in the chair in front of the camera.

"There we are. It's so nice to finally see your pretty face." He gave Spencer a smile and a wink. Hotch and Morgan shared a glance. "Now it's in my understanding that you and little Bailey over here are friends." He pointed to someone out of the sight of the camera, who was obviously Bailey. "And I'm sure that you miss her very much."

"Let her go. She has a family and -" Spencer went to go on, but he was cut off by the unsub.

"I know, I know. I've heard this all before." He rolled his eyes. "I've seen the picture of her family. Beautiful family. And the husband...Jake..." The unsub's eyes lit up a tiny bit. "Oh, now he's something special. In fact, his wife's got something special as well. That daughter is one lucky girl. Two beautiful parents. She's looking quite pretty herself already as well. Come to think of it, you're her godparent, aren't you? Well, that's quite the honor, isn't it? If something were to 'happen' to Bailey, you would have to step in and help with the baby." The unsub leaned in, enjoying himself. He was still smiling brightly. "But enough small talk. I'm guessing that you would like a word with Bailey?"

Spencer nodded. "Yes." He was trying as hard as he could to keep his nerves under control.

"Okay then." The unsub moved the webcam a little over to the side, and there was Bailey, sitting in a chair, with duct tape on her mouth. Her eyes brightened with the sight of Spencer. The unsub took the duct tape off of Bailey's mouth and began to speak.

"Okay. So this is how this is going to work." He picked up long needle that doctors used when giving people shots. It was filled with a clear liquid. "I'm going to inject this into Bailey's arm. You'll have five minutes to talk before she passes out. And that time starts now." He put the needle into Bailey's arm, and the liquid drained out of the tube. He moved out of the frame of the webcam, and left Bailey to talk with Spencer.

"Spencer I'm so sorry I didn't mean to tell him that you were my friend it just all kind of slipped out and now you've gotten pulled into his game because of me and -" Spencer cut off Bailey's rambling.

"Bailey. I'm not angry with you. Calm down, okay? Everything is going to be fine." Spencer told her softly.

"How are Jake and Anni?" She asked him, worried. Her voice was louder than usual, but she didn't seem to notice how loudly she was talking.

"They're fine. But right now I need you to try and help me find you. Can you do that?"

Bailey looked at him oddly. "What? I couldn't hear you." Bailey pointed to her left ear. "The bastard took my hearing aid."

Spencer gave her an odd look. "Why?"

"He told me that I wasn't supposed to have one. That it made me look less like Courtney."

"Who's Courtney?" Spencer asked, confused.

"He calls us all Courtney every now and then. I don't know why." Bailey trembled. "And he hits us if we correct him. Spencer, I want to go home."

"I know, Bailey. But just concentrate, okay?" Spencer said. "Do you know where you are?"

"In a barn, I think." She replied.

"Okay, now tell me about after he abducted you. What was the ride like? Was it bumpy or smooth? How long was the drive?"

"I was knocked out for the beginning of the ride but then I woke up. We were driving on a backroad, I think. Becuase it was really quiet. I couldn't hear any other cars. And there were a lot of hills." Bailey shook her head. "How does this help?"

"It does Bailey, trust me. And you're doing a great job. When he took you out of the car, what did you see? Or hear?"

"I was blindfolded. But I heard birds. And he smelled like really strong cologne. Like the kind that Tim used to wear to cover up the smell of alcohol. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Spencer gave her a little bit of a smile. "What else do you remember?"

Bailey sighed. The drug the unsub had given her as kicking in, and she was becomming a bit woozy. "His name isn't really Eric. It's Jason. Well that's what he told us at least."

"Okay Bailey. You're doing a great job."

"Spencer?" Bailey lowered her voice. "He knows about everything."

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked her.

"He knows about you, he knows about Jake and Anni, and he knows about my dad. I don't know how he knows but he does. And he said that if I do anything wrong he's going to find my dad and make him do worse things to me than what he did before." Bailey's eyes were wide in terror.

"Bailey, you know I won't let that happen. He's just bluffing." Spencer said softly. Bailey sighed again. Her shoulders were sagging.

"Icanbarely hearyou." She said. Her words were beginning to slur together.

"It's okay Bailey." Spencer told her. He wanted to reach through the screen and save her, but he sat and watched her helplessly.

"Whatif...this is thelast time I evertalk to you?" Bailey managed to say.

"It won't be. You're going to be okay."

"Promise?" Bailey asked him, her eyelids beginning to droop.

Spencer swallowed hard. "I-I promise." He said, knowing that he would probably not be able to keep that promise to her.

"TellAnniandJakethatIlovethem." Bailey mumbled.

"Okay. I will." Spencer said.

'IloveyoutooSpencer." She muttered. She struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I love you too." Spencer told her. Bailey allowed her eyelids to close, and she lay in the chair, asleep. Spencer looked at her. She was so pretty, but it was being masked by the enviroment that she was surrounded by.

JJ laid her hand on Spencer's shoulder. He jumped, having forgotten that he was not the only one in the room.

The unsub's hand reached over and adjusted the webcam. He still wore the same cocky smile. "Look at her, Spencer. Isn't she just perfect? Honestly," He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "I think she's my favorite."

Spencer gritted his teeth.

"No need to get offended Dr. Reid. It's just an opinion. I have to admit though, she des have some flaws. Like that hearing aid. Come on now, she's ony 30 years old. Courtney never had a hearing aid."

"Who's Courtney?" Spencer asked.

The unsub ignored him. "And her alcoholism? Courtney was never an addict."

"She's not an addict. And who is Courtney?" Spencer asked.

"Don't be in denial, Doctor. They say that these kinds of things run in the family. So I guess the one thing thing that Bailey got from her father, besides the abuse of course, is her love of drinking?"

"Just because you drink doesn't mean that you have an addiction." Spencer defended Bailey. She was not an addict; she just loved to drink.

"Ah, say what you want. I was just pointing out her flaws. I suppose we can't all be perfect. What about you, Dr. Reid? What are your flaws?" The unsub flashed him a smile.

"My flaws?" He asked, confused.

"How about I name them for you then? You see, I did a little bit of research on you, and I got some of the truth out of Bailey. Your father wasn't such a winner either, was he? Leaving you behind to care for your sick mother? That must have given you quite a bit of anger. Is that why you and Bailey bonded so well? Through your messed up fathers?"

"No, actually, it wasn't." Spencer responded. He and Bailey had been friends for a few years before his father walked out on him.

"Hmm, that's interesting." The unsub paused. "Well it has been quite a pleasure talking to you, Doctor. Remember, you only have two more days before the second week is over." Before Spencer could respond, the unsub disconnected the video chat.

There was a few seconds of quiet before Morgan spoke up. "What the hell is that man's problem?"

Spencer shrugged. He was unsure if they had even gotten anything useful from the talk. If anything, there were now more questions than answers. Who was Courtney and what was her role in the kidnappings? Why was the unsub so entertained by himself and Bailey?

Spencer sighed. Hotch called them all to meet in the conference room so that they could process the video. Spencer was eager to go over all of it, but at the same time he did not want to be disappointed if it all added up to dead ends. He followed everyone out, and tried to shake the image of Bailey knocked out in the chair out of his mind.

To Be Continued

A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review!


	7. Scars

The Funny Thing About Friends

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Okay so I hope you all liked the last chapter & had an awesome holiday season. :) PLEASE review :) 3, Meg

Chapter 7

All of the BAU team members sat around in the conference room. They were all anxious to go over the video and see what more they could add to the profile and the case. Morgan spoke first.

"Did anyone catch the vibe that this man is homosexual?" He asked. "Hotch and I think that he is, after listening to the way he was talking to Reid, along with his body language."

JJ and Prentiss both nodded. "I was catching on to that, too." JJ said.

"Then he doesn't abduct women for sexual reasons. They fit his type simply because they remind him of someone who has left him or hurt him." Rossi added.

"Like a sisiter who died, or a mother, or a friend...anything along those lines will work." Hotch said. He glanced over at Spencer. "Reid, some of the questions I'm going to ask now are going to be personal about Bailey. I'm going to need you to answer them truthfully, even if you would rather not."

Spencer nodded slowly.

"Is she an alcoholic?"

Spencer hesitated before answering. It was a question he had been asking himself since the summer he and Bailey were 22 years old. She went through a bad breakup, and drank alcohol for the first time. She had wanted to avoid it because she knew how it had affected her father, but after she drank it that first time, she didn't want to stop. It was not as though she drank constantly; she had been able to stay sober for the nine months that she was pregnant with Anni. But it was a known fact to almost anyone who knew Bailey well that she loved to drink. Now, however, if she _did _want to stop, Spencer was unsure if she could.

"I...don't really know. She just _really _likes to drink." He played with his hands. "She doesn't like talking about it. She says it brings back bad memories when we talk about addiction."

"Because of her father, I'm guessing?" Hotch asked. Spencer nodded 'yes'. "Well, he has to do with my next question. What is Bailey's relationship with her father?"

"There isn't one." Spencer said. "She, her mother, and her sister all ran away from Miami to Las Vegas to get away from him. She was only six years old."

"Well, he obviously abused her in some way, and it's affected her." Hotch said.

"He started to drink when she was just a baby, and then he completely changed. He lost his job, and blamed it on his family. That's when the abuse started." Spencer sighed. He didn't like talking about Bailey's personal life, but he knew that it may help, so he continued. "Bailey was about two years old when he first hit her. He called her horrible things as well. He never sexually abused her, but the emotional, verbal and physical abuse were always happening. One day, just a few days before they all ran away from him, he hit her so hard across the face that he damaged her inner ear. She can't hear from her left ear at all."

"So she wears the hearing aid." Hotch said. Spencer nodded.

"That was one of the final reasons why they ran away. Her mother had taken enough abuse." He said. "Bailey sometimes used to wake up in the middle of the night and just scream because of the nightmares she had of him. Those lasted until she was about fourteen years old. Then she developed problems sleeping, because sometimes when she closed her eyes, she would have memories of what he did to her. Sometimes she still can't sleep because of it."

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Bailey and Spencer were sitting in his living room, flipping through the TV channels and laughing. It was 1993, and he and Bailey were thirteen years old. It was late fall, and it was getting slightly cooler outside on that saturday evening, relieving the people wandering around the streets of Las Vegas. Bailey stretched out her arm and pointed the remote at the television.**

**"I hate this show." She said simply. Spencer was looking at her outstretched arm. On the inside of it, near her wrist, there were a series of scars. He had noticed them multiple times, but he had never asked her about them. With a sudden burst of curiousity, he spoke up.**

**"Did you cut yourself?" Spencer asked, pointing to her arm. Bailey saw what he was pointing at, and she quickly put her arm down.**

**Her cheeks seemed to go a bit pale. "No. My dad did that."**

**"Oh." Spencer said in realization. Bailey was staring off into space, a sad look on her face. **

**"He used to play this 'game' with us." She went to explain. "He used to come home, all drunk and dirty, smelling like sex and cigars, and he would call out 'DADDY'S HOME!'. Caroline and I knew to take off running whenever we heard him say that. He would chase after us, laughing, screaming insults at us, and we would be screaming and crying, hoping that he would get tired of running and collapse in a drunken daze. But that day was...different." Bailey shook her head sadly. "He was acting more fierce than usual, and he wouldn't give up. I tripped on something, and I fell down. Before I could get back up, and was pinning me to the floor." Bailey began to cry. She covered her face, and her shoulders began to shake violently. Spencer put his arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. "A-and I was b-begging h-him not to c-cut me b-but he did. A-and m-my mom had t-to take m-me to the ER b-because I almost p-passed out f-from losing s-so much b-blood."**

**Spencer regretted asking her about her scars, and he sat, his arm around Bailey, listening to her cry in terror. He was positive that she was having the memory play vividly in her mind, and that by asking her a simple question, he had taken some skeletons out of her closet that she would have rather kept locked far away.**

**(End Flashback)**

"Poor girl." Morgan mumbled. JJ nodded in agreement.

"Did Bailey do anything unusual in the video?" Hotch asked Spencer. "Anything that you would have noticed, that we didn't?"

Spencer thought back. "No. Not that I can think of. I think that she's just as confused as what's going on as we are."

"I personally want to know who Courtney is." Morgan spoke up.

"Same with me." Prentiss agreed. "Garcia, can you cross the list of girls that you found with those with the name Courtney?"

"Sure." Garcia responded. "Just a second..." After a few keystrokes, she spoke up again. "There are six girls with the name Courtney who have died within the past five years with in the ages of 30 and 40 within a 100 mile radius."

"Six? That's still too many." Hotch said.

"Well for now it's all that we have. We need to open all of those girls' cases and look into anyone related to them in any way who could be our kidnapper." Rossi said.

"The responding officers at the body dump site of Allison Grasso had to send the body to the coroner so that she wouldn't be exposed to the elements, but they're sending pictures over now to Garcia." Hotch spoke up, looking down at his phone, having recieved a text message from the police captain. He gave a sigh of silent relief; he was in no hurry to go to the crime scene with Spencer and prompt more memories of Bailey. "The rest of us can all go and look into the different cases. There's six different girls, and there's six of us, so we'll all have to take a seperate case. Keep everyone posted if you think you may be on to something."

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Spencer walked up to the home of Courtney Thomson's mother. Upon looking over her case, he had found that Courtney had died in a car accident nearly four years ago at just 31 years old, in which she passed out behind the wheel, leading her car to crash into oncoming traffic. It was certainly something tramatic that could cause a mental breakdown for the unsub.

He rang the doorbell, and a little while later a woman in her late fifties answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Thomson. My name is Dr. Spencer Reid and I'm with the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions about your daughter, Courtney." He showed her his badge quickly.

"Courtney?" The woman gave him a questioning look. "That was about four years ago. The police said that it was just an accident."

"Yes, we still believe that it was an accident. But we're actually investigating a case of a man who may have known your daughter. May I come in?" He asked her.

Mrs. Thomson open the door wider. "Yes, come on in."

She led Spencer to a gray sofa in her living room. She smoothed out her pants in an attempt to calm her nerves. Spencer realized that she was quite nervous about talking about her daughter.

"Mrs. Thomson, I just have a few questions." Spencer said. "Did your daughter ever mention a man named Eric?" He thought back to the name that the unsub had given them when asked what his first name was.

"Eric? No...she never mentioned anyone to me named Eric." Mrs. Thomson replied.

Spencer nodded. "What about someone named Jason?" He asked the name that Bailey had said the unsub had given to her.

Mrs. Thomson thought back for a moment and then answered Spencer. "No. There was never anyone close to her with those names."

"Okay." Spencer felt his heart drop a bit, hoping that the other agents were having better luck than what he was. "Well, I just have one more question before I leave." He handed her a picture Garcia had printed out of the unsub's face. Because the unsub was so overly cocky, the team had at least managed to get a good look at his face.

Mrs. Thomson took the picture, but frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't think my Courtney is the girl you're looking for."

"Well, thank you very much for your time, Mrs. Thomson." Spencer said. He walked out of her home and sighed, wondering how everyone else was doing.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Morgan finally walked into the home of Courtney Lonter's former college room mate and best friend, Maya Hunter. He had been standing on her front porch for nearly fifteen minutes, trying to persuade her that he really was an FBI agent, and not 'rapist/axe murderer'. Maya had even told him to call his boss and prove to her that he was actually working a case. He sighed. He had done all of that just to get inside of her house, and he hadn't even started the interview.

"I swear, if you even try to lay a hand on me, you're going to get a kick where the sun-don't-shine, and trust me, it ain't gunna be pretty." Maya eyed him over carefully. She looked like a small, harmless, pretty young woman, but Morgan realized that he should never judge a book by it's cover.

"I saw what that bastard did to Courtney, and -" She put a hand to her mouth and held back a sob. Morgan, upon reading the file, saw that Courtney had been raped and murdered at 32 years old by a stranger when she was walking home from work through a usually quiet part of town five years earlier.

"Maya, you knew Courtney better than most people." Morgan said. He went to go on but Maya interrupted him.

"Damn straight! I knew her better than _all_ people." She corrected.

Morgan tried to keep the same, calm expression. He took out a picture of the unsub. "Do you recognize this man?"

Maya took a quick glance at the picture and raised an eyebrow, surprised. "That's Jason Monroe. He and Courtney and I were best friends."

"Really?" Morgan asked her.

"No, I lied." Maya said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Yes, really!"

"And how did he take her death?" Morgan asked Maya, ignoring her comment.

Maya thought about the question. "Well, I haven't seen Jason since the funeral. He kind of...disappeared."

Morgan nodded. He may have just gotten the first big break in the case, and he may have gotten it just in time...there was less than two days before Brenda Feika would be murdered.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Hey, sorry for a bit of a wait, I've been on vacation in the amazing town of Las Vagas! :) My friend was in the Miss America Pagaent, and I'm very happy to say that she made Top 10! :) Well anyway, I hope you like this chapter. Review Please! :)


	8. Connection

The Funny Thing About Friends

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Hey everyone! :) I hope you all like this chapter! Reviews are nice. :)**

Chapter 8

Morgan had texted the other agents that he may have found the unsub, and, upon reading the text, they all met back at Quantico a short while later. As of now they were seated around the conference room table, with the Spencer as the exception; he was standing up, pacing around nervously. Hotch watched him out of the corner of his eye, not sure whether or not he should be worried. Finally deciding that Spencer's behavior was expected, he turned his attention back to the meeting taking place.

"Garcia, the man Maya told me about is named Jason Monroe. He used to live in Cape May, New Jersey until Courtney died and he disappeared. I need everything you can find on him." Morgan told her. She nodded and typed for a rather long while on her laptop, and the team members all seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation.

Spencer did some mental math. Bailey lived in Pennsville, New Jersey, which was only a twenty minute drive from where the unsub had previously lived. That most likely meant that Jason had not left the country, or even the state, when he 'disappeared', and was probably living somewhere in the New Jersey, Viriginia, and Delaware boundaries.

Garcia frowned. "Screw him and his computer-smartness." She mumbled to herself. She typed a few more keys and then let out an angry sigh.

"That doesn't sound good." Morgan said, his spirits beginning to crumble. They day was nearly over, and his lead may have not been such a good lead after all.

Garcia shook her head sadly. "The Jason Monroe you're looking for is completely off the map. Completely gone. Like as in, abra-cadabra, poof! Where'd he go? Only the magician knows." She made hand motions while she talked that were quite amusing and pointless at the same time. "No credit cards, no bank accounts, not a single transaction. No forwarding address after he left his apartment. He just got up, paid the last monthly rent, and left. And before he disappeared, he never even got a speeding ticket. He's squeaky clean. Well..." She looked up at Spencer. "He used to be, at least." She looked at the screen. "I have his picture, though, and trust me, he's the same guy." She turned the moniter around to show the agents. Jason had looked the same five years before as far as his physical appearence, but there was something in his facial expression that showed that he was normal, not an over-confident psychopath, as he was now.

"You can't find anything?" Spencer asked quietly from the corner of the room where he now stood. Garcia seemed to crumble at the sight of his sadness.

"Hey, I didn't say that, kiddo. I'm sure there has to be something I can find!" She looked back down at her laptop. "I think..." She typed a few more keys. "I'm gunna go into super-Garcia mode right now folks, so hold on to your hats."

"Just keep looking Garcia. We know he isn't dead, so he can't just vanish into thin air. He has those girls hostage somewhere." Hotch told her. She didn't seem to hear him; she appeared zoned into her laptop.

"Okay, as for the rest of us," Hotch went on. "We must have missed something. We need to go over what we know again and add to the profile. We need to figure out exactly who Jason Monroe is and what makes him who he is, because sooner or later, he's going to contact us again. And this time, we need to be ready."

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"I did it!" Garcia jumped up from her office space nearly an hour later. Her many moniters were all active, trying to find Jason Monroe in whatever way was possible. The one moniter was blinking an alert which read:** CONNECTIONS MADE**.

She clicked on the alert, hoping that she had finally found something useful. Scanning over the results, she threw her hands in the air and gave a small cheer of delight.

"Don't you worry Bailey. We're coming to save you." She mumbled to herself as she picked up the phone on the desktop. She dialed Hotch's number.

He picked up the phone in the middle of the second ring.

"Yeah, Garcia? You're on speaker."

"Well, for starters, I think you should all stop calling me 'Garcia' and start calling me 'The Smartest and Most Amazing Lady in the Entire World'." She replied.

Morgan gave a little laugh in the backround. "Can't I just call you Baby Girl?"

"Eh, yeah, that works, too." She smiled. "I've got some information on Jason and the girls that you all may need to hear."

"We're all listening." Hotch said.

"Okay, so like I said earlier, this guy is completely off of the map. So trying to locate his current home was basically an epic fail. Sorry. But," She paused for a bit of dramatic effect. "I did some thinking, and started wondering how the unsub was able to locate these specific seven girls. I mean, they all are blonde with blue eyes and young and so damn pretty, but c'mon, we're talking about girls from Virginia and New Jersey. There are plently of girls who fit that description. So, I found the common link between them."

"Really?" Hotch asked.

"Oh, I like the tone of your voice! You're impressed!" Garcia smiled. "And, yes, really. It's a place called Le Petit Plat. It's a fancy French restaurant in Delaware about an hour and a half away from here. All of the girls ate there within two weeks of their abduction."

Spencer looked at the ground, a look of sadness and realization passing over his face. Hotch and Morgan shared a look.

"And, it gets even better." Garcia went on. "Apparently, there's a man with the name John Monroe who works as an assistant chef there. He may be Jason Monroe, with a different first name."

"Okay, we'll check it out. Good job, Garcia." Hotch said.

Garcia smiled. "Thank you, sir." She put the phone down and hoped what she had given them was enough to solve the case.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

"Le Petit Plat. I would have never guessed that was where he found Bailey." Spencer spoke up. He walked out of the corner of the room where he had been standing.

"Does Bailey go there on a regular basis?" Hotch asked.

Spencer shook his head. "No, she only ever goes on special occasions. She and Jake go there for their anniversary every year, because that's where they first met each other."

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Spencer yawned and sat up from the couch. He realized that he had fallen asleep a few hours before, tired from the past week of catching cold-blooded killers. The case was closed, and he had been in the middle of getting ready to go out to supper so he could visit with Bailey.**

**Bailey...**

**He jumped off the sofa and grabbed his cell phone from his coat pocket. There were six missed calls from Bailey. What time was it, anyway? He looked at the clock. It was 10:17 p.m.; he was supposed to show up at supper at 6:30.**

**He dialed Bailey's number and silently scolded himself for falling asleep.**

**"Oh, well look who decided to call me back." Bailey said sarcastically from the other line.**

**"Bailey, I'm so sorry! I really am. I fell asleep on the couch at 3:30 and then when I woke up it was 10:17. I'm just really so sorry." Spencer spoke rather quickly, hoping Bailey wasn't mad. It was too late now to head out for Delaware to go to Le Petit Plat; it would take him about an hour and a half. She let out a little laugh from the other end.**

**"Spencer, you drive me crazy!" She laughed again. "And trust me, as much as I want to be mad, I can't be. Anyway, because you didn't show up, I may have just met my soul mate." She gave a little giggle.**

**Spencer gave a sigh of relief; luckily, Bailey wasn't pissed off at him. "Really?"**

**"Yeah. His name is Jake. He saw me sitting alone at the table, came over, and told me I was too pretty to be sitting by myself. So, we had supper together, and we really hit it off. And I mean **_**really**_** hit it off. We talked for the longest time. He's such a sweetheart." Bailey fell back onto her bed and let out a content sigh. "But, anyway, how's Quantico and the BAU? And how's your one friend, JJ?" **

**Spencer rolled his eyes with a smile. "She's just a friend, Bailey."**

**Bailey laughed. "Oh, c'mon. You and JJ, me and Jake, it'll all work out!"**

**"Are you really serious about this guy? Are you guys going to go out or something?" Spencer asked her.**

**She paused and thought over the question. "Oh, I don't know. It's too early to tell. We'll probably go out again once or twice, but I'm not sure it'll get any more serious than that."**

**Little did either of them know, Bailey had just met her future husband.**

**(End Flashback)**

"Their anniversary was a week and a half before she was kidnapped. They went to Le Petit Plat, like always." Spencer said with a little sigh.

"Chances are, that's our connection. I know it's getting late now, but we don't have much time before the second week is over. Morgan and I will head on over to the restaurant and find out what we can about John Monroe." Hotch said. He deliberately gave the job to Morgan instead of Spencer; he was catching on to the vibe that Spencer had enough action for the day.

"I should call Jake and make sure everything's alright." Spencer said, more to himself than to the other agents. Morgan and Hotch grabbed a few objects off of the table and headed out of the BAU. Spencer headed in the oppisite direction, and JJ hurried after him.

"Hey, Spence." She called. He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Oh, hey JJ." He replied.

"We've both had a long day, and there's nothing that needs done here anyway. Do want to head out and get some supper or something? It'll be at least three and a half hours until Morgan and Hotch get back. We have plenty of time." JJ suggested.

He thought the offer over. "Okay..." He finally said. "But can I call Jake first? I just want to check in with him and Anni."

"Sure. I'll drive." JJ grabbed her coat and keys and headed outside to the parking lot with Spencer.

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Morgan and Hotch walked into the fancy French restaurant a short while later.

"This is crazy." Morgan mumbled, looking all around the room. The entire restaurant glittered from all of the crystals that hung from the ceilings and balconies. "All of this just to eat supper? Just standing in this place makes my wallet cry!"

Hotch shrugged and gave his (rarely ever seen) smile. "I'm fine with McDonald's."

Morgan chuckled. "Same here."

A man in a tuxedo walked over to where they were standing. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and was a bit lanky. He had a soft voice when he spoke. "Welcome to Le Petit Plat. Table for two?"

"Actually," Morgan said, pulling out his FBI badge. "We aren't here for the food."

"Oh." The waitor said softly. "I'll go and get our manager. One second." He disappeared around the corner, and returned a short while later with an attractive lady, about 37 years old, with brown hair and brown eyes. Morgan smiled to himself. She was certainly not who he expected the manager to be.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" She asked.

"We're investigating the kidnappings of seven young women, who are being held hostage by a man by the name of Jason Monroe. We suspect that he may be employed here, and that he is going by the alias of John Monroe." Hotch replied. He held up the picture of Jason. "This is a picture of him."

The lady gave a little gasp and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh my." She looked over the picture very carefully, as to make sure that he was who she thought he was. "Yes, that's John. He was one of our better chefs. He came to work here a few years back, and he was really just an amazing employee. Are you sure you have the right man? John was always so friendly with everyone." The woman shook her head. "Although he could be a bit cocky...and he did have a temper."

Hotch and Morgan shared a look. "Does he ever have sudden outbursts for no apparent reason?"

"Yeah, how did you know that?" The woman asked them.

"We're profilers for the BAU." Morgan answered. "We've been profiling this man in order to learn more about him."

"Did John ever mention anything to you about having severe medical conditions?" Hotch asked.

The woman nodded. "Actually, yes. He took two breaks every day so that he could go and take his medicine. I think he had depression, and he might have been Bipolar. Oh wait, maybe he had OCD." She thought it over. "I'm not really sure."

"We expect that John lost control of his life after his best friend was murdered five years ago. Shortly after that, he left his home town and came to work here. Did he ever mention a girl named Courtney?" Morgan asked another question.

"You mean that Courtney has been dead all of these years?" The manager looked a bit confused. "He always talked about her like she was still alive. Actually, he always made it sound like they lived together. He used to say things like, 'I have to leave early and take care of Courtney. She's not feeling well.' I just figured they were great friends. But not lovers or anything. John wasn't attracted to women in that way."

Hotch and Morgan shared another glance. Morgan spoke up. "This man is highly delusional. Once he realized that he couldn't keep pretending Courtney was still living with him, he had a psychotic break. Because of that, he has abducted women and is recreating the death of Courtney every week."

The manager shook her head. "I can't believe this."

"Do you know where Jogn is right now?" Hotch asked her. She shook her head again.

"No. He quit about a month ago. It was completely out-of-the-blue. He didn't leave a forwarding address."

Morgan frowned. "He quit his job to become a murderer."

They thanked the manager, and walked out of the fancy restaurant. Hotch took out his cell phone and called Garcia.

"Any luck?" She asked from the other end of the line.

"Maybe." Hotch replied. "But I need you to try to find where Jason Monroe went after he quit his job at Le Petit Plat. Try the alias John Monroe as well."

"Okay sir." She hung up the phone and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 10:14 p.m. She sighed. It was going to be a late night.

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At nine o' clock the next morning, just as Garcia was finally catching onto a paper trail, an alert appeared on one of her multiple screens. She clicked on it, and a message from Jason Monroe filled the screen. It read:

_Dear BAU Agents, _

_I hope your investagation is going well. Everything is fine here with the girls...for now. In ten minutes, I'll send a video "update". Until then..._

Garcia made a small noise in the back of her throat. "No, no, no, no, no, no! I just need a little more time!" She sighed sadly, knowing that Brenda Feika was going to die, and there was little she could do besides alert her team.

A short while later, Rossi, Hotch, Spencer, Prentiss, Morgan and JJ all stood in Garcia's work space. Morgan and Hotch looked rather tired, having stayed up late on the drive back home. Spencer looked surprisingly rested, having been able to take the night off; he had managed to sleep better than he had the past two weeks.

"I was really close to finding where he went, Hotch. I could just feel it." Garcia said, still typing away on her laptop. "But this man is like the master of disguise."

Hotch nodded. "Just keep looking. Something will turn up."

"I hate how he bounces off every server possible. It makes his messages all untracable." Garcia sighed. "Oh wait...I'm recieving a video." She clicked a few icons, and the unsub's face appeared on the screen. It was not a live chat, but simply a video that he had recorded himself.

"You all are really bad at finding people, aren't you? Two weeks have gone by and you have let two girls down. That's just embarrassing. Just like how you couldn't find Courtney's rapist." Jason shook his head. Everyone in the room shared a look.

"Well, that just about confirms our theory." Rossi spoke up. The video went on.

"Brenda..." Jason called for the girl. She came out from the shadows, shaking and crying.

"Please don't hurt me." She all but whispered. "Please do the right thing."

Jason began to laugh. "The right thing? What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking you to a better place. That IS the right thing."

Brenda shook her head. Jason suddenly became angry.

"How ungrateful can you girls get?" He grabbed a gun laying on the table next to him, and shot Brenda multiple times, even after she was dead. It was obvious overkill. Garcia closed her eyes. Spencer swallowed hard, picturing Bailey suffering the same way.

Jason walked over to the camera, covered in blood. "Dr. Reid, I honestly don't think you and your team are even trying. Do you want your friend back or not?" The unsub pressed a button on the video camera and the video came to a stop.

Everyone in the room avoided talking about the last two lines of the video. Instead, Spencer spoke up.

"He switched the murder weapon. The last time he stabbed Allison. This time he shot Brenda."

"The way he kills isn't as important as the kill itself." Prentiss concluded.

"Let's just hope we stop him before he kills again in a week." Morgan said. Everyone nodded in agreement. No one was looking forward to the following week, which would consist of contacting Brenda's family, finding her dead body, the death of "Girl # 3", and, of course, more mind games from Jason Monroe.

To Be Continued

A/N: Okay, I hope you all like this chapter. :) And did anyone else think this past week's episode of Criminal Minds (the one with Spencer's headaches) was the most amazing thing in the world? hahaha :) Oh and also, I think he and that Ashley girl would make a cute couple. Just an opinion, though. If I directed Criminal Minds, I would totally make that happen ASAP! :) Well, anyway, read and review please!


	9. Location

The Funny Thing About Friends

I Own Nothing :(

**A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the wait! I've been so busy! Well, anyway, review please!**

Chapter 9

Brenda's body was dropped off on the front steps of her boyfriend's home two days after her death. Spencer and Hotch were on their way to the scene, and Hotch silently hoped that things would go better than the last time they had headed to the body dump together.

The trip would take about an hour and a half, considering that Brenda's boyfriend lived in New Jersey. That would give Hotch plenty of time to find out a bit more about Spencer and Bailey's friendship. Hotch would be the first to admit that he was rather curious, but at the same time, he was worried that Spencer may get worked up at the memories of Bailey. Hotch was never one to get too personal in the lives of his coworkers, but he had to admit that Spencer intrigued him more than the others on the team.

Hotch cleared his throat and turned on the radio. The channel was set on an 80's rock station, and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benetar came blaring through the speakers. Spencer covered his ears at the noise; he had certainly not expected Hotch to be a fan of rock music, especially at that volume. Hotch looked over at Spencer, and upon realizing that he was not used to the radio being turned up full blast, lowered the music level. Spencer uncovered his ears and gave a tiny smile.

"I'm pretty sure that we would both be deaf by the time we reached the crime scene if you had kept the music at the same decibal level the entire trip." He gave a little chuckle.

The one corner of Hotch's mouth turned up into a rare half-smile, and he made a little noise in the back of his throat that seemed to be an attempted laugh.

Spencer looked at Hotch out of the corner of his eye, and began to speak to him again. "Hotch?"

"Yeah, Reid?" Hotch kept his eyes on the road, his expression not changing.

"Thanks for," Spencer cleared his throat. "Thanks for letting me stay on this case."

Hotch glanced over at him. "You haven't given me any reason to take you off of it." That wasn't a _complete_ lie; Spencer may have been emotionally involved, but he was still doing good work, and hadn't completely jumped off the deep end. After all, Hotch had done much, much worse when Hayley had been -

His train of thought was interrupted by Spencer's responce. "Well, I just...you said the other day that some people wanted me off the case. But I honestly don't know what I would do if I wasn't aloud to help find Bailey. She's like a sister to me, really." Spencer looked down at his lap, a frown on his face. "I guess I'm just trying to say thanks for believing in me."

"I trust you Reid. You do good work, and I know that you'll do everything that you can to get Bailey and the other girls home safely." Hotch replied. He had to admit, he didn't mind having a personal talk with Spencer.

"We only have two weeks and five days left before he kills Bailey." Spencer said softly, more to himself than to Hotch. He turned to the older man, his eyes wide. "Honestly, do you think we'll get there in time?"

Hotch sighed. It was a question he didn't want to answer, and one that he had been avoiding as well. He finally answered as best as he could. "I don't know. Garcia is doing all that she can to find John/Jason Monroe, and JJ is organizing a press conference for later tonight. You and I are going to the body dump to see what we can find out, and Emily and Morgan are following up on all leads to try and find a paper trail. For now, that's the best we can do; we'll just have to see where it takes us."

Spencer gave a little sigh. "I just can't imagine what she's feeling right now. I just want to get to her and save her before anything else happens."

Hotch looked at him an gave an understanding nod. He decided that he might as well try and find out some more about Bailey and Spencer's relationiship. Before he could ask a question, though, Spencer spoke first.

"When Bailey and I were seventeen, she 'proposed' to me. Like, you know, a marriage proposal." Spencer gave a small smile. "She said that we could take on the world together. I said yes, but of course we were just kidding. Sometimes, though..." He trailed off.

"Sometimes you wish that you two were being serious?" Hotch answered the question. Spencer nodded.

"Don't get me wrong: I'm so happy for her and Jake, and Anni is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. I just sometimes wish that it could be Bailey and I, and that I'd be able to protect her from whatever happens." He sighed.

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**"Hey, Spencer." Bailey softly called his name, and he turned around to see her dressed in her wedding dress, with her hair done up beautifully and her entire face glowing with happiness.**

**"Bailey, you look amazing." Spencer told her, barely able to get the words out. She gathered him in a hug, and he wished that hey never had to let go. But eventually, Bailey spoke up.**

**"Spencer, you're crushing my rib cage." She joked. He let go of her, had not realized how tighly he had been holding her.**

**"Oh, sorry." He said with a tiny smile.**

**"Can you really believe this is happening?" Bailey asked him. She seemed to be walking on air, barely aware of what was going on around her.**

**"Honestly? No, not really. And, uhh," He cleared his throat. "I can't remember at all what I'm supposed to do when we walk down the aisle.**

**Bailey let out a laugh and had to cover her mouth so that no one would know that she had snuck out of the changing room before the wedding. "Yeah, right. You never forget anything."**

**"Well I forgot this! I'm under pressure." He argued. She rolled her eyes.**

**"Just walk me down the damn aisle when the music starts." **

**He smiled. "Okay."**

**Bailey, having no father to walk her down to Jake, had asked her best friend to hold her arm instead. She couldn't have thought of a better person to walk her down than Spencer.**

**"Caroline is going to kill me if she knows that I snuck out while she's at the bathroom. I guess it's 'bad luck' if anyone sees me before the wedding." Bailey gave a small smile. "But I couldn't help myself. I wanted you to be the first person to see me all fancy." She did a small twirl in her dress. "I better get back before she does."**

**"Alright." Spencer said. Bailey leaned foward and kissed him on the cheek, and disappeared back into the changing room.**

Spencer continued talking to Hotch. "But now this has happened, and I feel so... helpless."

"We're going to get him, Reid. Don't worry." Hotch replied. But in his heart, he sadly knew that he was unsure if they would get him in time.

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Garcia typed wildly on her computer, trying desperately to get the information she needed.

"C'mon baby. Give momma what she needs." She mumbled to the machine. Finally, a picture of a woman popped up on the screen. Garcia looked closely. Her name was Ashlyn Meade, and she was the sister of Jason Monroe. Garcia smiled and sat back in her chair. "Oh, I'm amazing."

She picked up the phone and dialed Morgan's number.

"Hey, baby girl." He said into the phone.

"Baby, I have good news. But, it's gunna cost ya." She smiled in a sly way. Morgan raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, really? Well, as good as that sounds, I'll have to take a rain check. What's the good news?"

"Our unsub has an older sister. Maybe she knows where her brother is." Garcia said.

Morgan repeated what Garcia had just told him to Prentiss. "Okay, Garcia. What's her address?"

"1919 Mockingbird Court in Dover, Delaware. I'll send directions to your phone right now. You better get going; it's going to take about an hour to get out there." She replied.

"Well, she lives right in the middle radius of the girls who were abducted. Okay, thanks Garcia." Morgan said.

"Anytime. Oh, and sweet cheeks," Garcia said with a smile. "Don't forget about that rain check you just promised me."

Morgan laughed and hung up the phone. He looked at Prentiss. "Well, let's get going."

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Spencer's phone rang, and Hotch looked over at him. "Who is it?"

Spencer frowned. "I don't know." He glanced at Hotch. "The number's blocked."

Hotch nodded and signaled him to pick up the phone. Meanwhile, he called Garcia and quietly told her to trace the call that was coming into Spencer's phone.

Spencer cleared his throat and accepted the call. "Hello?" He put the call on speaker.

"Spencer?" A soft voice came through the line.

Spencer swallowed. "Bailey?"

"Jason said we have a minute to talk." She answered from the other end.

Spencer silently cursed Jason for playing so many mind games. "Okay, then we can talk. Do you know where you are?"

"A barn. In the middle of freaking nowhere." Bailey replied.

"How do you know that you're in the middle of nowhere?" Spencer asked.

"Because there's no noise outside. No cars, no people, nothing." She remained surprisingly calm.

"Okay, Bailey. That helps. Really, it does." Spencer looked at his watch. Forty-three seconds had already gone by.

"Bailey, my name is Aaron." Hotch spoke up from the driver's seat. "I work with Spencer. Just stay calm. Jason thrives off of fear and anger. Don't let him mess with your mind."

"I won't." Bailey promised. "You're Aaron Hotchner, aren't you? Spencer's told me about - "

The phone line went dead at the one minute mark, just as Bailey had said it would.

"Bailey?" Spencer called, but there was no reply. He dropped the phone into his lap.

Hotch redialed Garcia's number. "Did you get a location?" He asked when she picked up.

"I don't have an exact address but I have a general area between three cell phone towers." She replied. "He's somewhere in New Jersey between Paulsboro, Woodbury, and Bellmaw."

"Thanks, Garcia." Hotch said. "Tell JJ, Emily, and Morgan to get their go-bags ready. After the press conference JJ is setting up, we're heading to New Jersey." He hung up the phone.

"This unsub lived within forty minutes of Bailey and Jake." Spencer said softly. "It's cases like this that make me wonder if any of us are ever really safe from the bad tings that happen in the world."

Hotch nodded in agreement.

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The body of Brenda Feika turned out to have no special markings by the unsub, and Spencer and Hotch were a bit discouraged by the fact that they had wasted about four hours only to end up with no new leads.

By the time they returned, it was time for the press conference.

JJ stood up behind the podium and began to speak. "Good afternoon, my name is Agent Jennifer Jeroe and I am with the Behavior Analysis Unit within the FBI. We are currently investigating the kidnappings of seven young women, all within the age range of 30-40, who have blonde hair and blue eyes. These women are very attractive, and fit the 'type' that our unsub is looking for. This man has already killed two of these women, one in each week. He seems to be following a strict pattern of when he murders the women."

A large picture of Jason Monroe was on a stand next to JJ. She pointed to it.

"This is the man that we are looking for. His name is Jason Monroe, but he may go by the alias John Monroe, or another name that he has created. We believe that this man has suffered the loss of a close female friend that has caused a psychotic break. He tries to make up her death by killing women who look like her in order to 'save her'. This man is most likely delusional, and suffers from multiple mental health disorders."

JJ looked carefully throughout the crowd before going on. "If you were to come across this man on the street and start a conversation with him, you would probably not suspect he could be a serial killer. He is intelligent, physically attractive, and friendly. He was also able to lure women who were married or were in a relationship, which suggests that he played an act. For example, he may have said that he had just moved in down the street, or that he was lost and needed directions. In these cases, even married women would have been easy to kidnap. However," JJ went on, "This man is also overly confident and cocky. He also has a short temper. When he gets angry, he changes from friendly to harmful."

"We believe that this man is from the New Jersey area, and that this is wehre he is keeping the women hostage. If you have any information at all, please call the FBI tip hotline. Thank you." JJ concluded the press conference, and asked if there were any questions. Once she had taken all of the questions she could, she walked away from the podium and towards the parking lot where Hotch and Spencer stood, waiting.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked.

"They're still getting their things together. You should, too. We leave in a half hour." Hotch answered. JJ nodded and disappeared into the BAU. Spencer and Hotch stood outside, a bit awkwardly, waiting for the other agents.

Finally, Hotch spoke up. "On the phone earlier, Bailey said that you had told her about me." He stated. Spencer shrugged.

"I tell her everything about everyone." He responded. Hotch nodded slowly, wishing Spencer would elaborate on his answer. Finally, he did.

"I tell her about my friendships with my coworkers. It's nothing much, really." He blushed softly.

"Do you tell her anything specific about me?" Hotch asked, genuinely curious. Seeing Spencer's eyes widen and his cheeks turn bright red, he looked away.

"Sorry. That was rather unprofessional of me." He mumbled.

Morgan walked out of the BAU with Prentiss and reached Hotch and Spencer as soon as Spencer said softly, "It's okay. I don't mind."

Morgan raised his eyebrows, always one for gossip, but Hotch and Spencer would not respond to his questioning looks. It wasn't any of his damn business, anyway.

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Hope you liked it, once again, sorry for the wait.


	10. Chat

The Funny Thing About Friends

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. This chapter took me FOREVER to write. But hey, I have a legitimate excuse (for once)! I just played the lead role of Babe Williams in the musical _The Pajama Game_ at my high school. So, it's been pretty crazy lately. But now I'm back to writing, so I should have the next chapter posted fairly soon. :)

Chapter 9

Upon reaching New Jersey, the team quickly established relations with the local police force, who, not surprisingly, had heard the news of the abductions. They were eager to help in any way they could, and allowed the team to set up in their station.

Spencer was working intensely on the map of the area in which Jason's cell phone had been located in. So far, the twenty mile radius was looking larger than ever, and Spencer's head began to hurt. His stomach felt upset, and he was getting rather pissed off at himself and at everyone around him. He decided that he needed more sugar in his already caffeinated coffee, and, as he turned around, he knocked into Hotch.

Spencer felt himself blushing – had he really been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Hotch walk up behind him? He sighed. It wouldn't be the first time he had gotten lost in his own 'little world'.

Spencer mumbled an apology and went to run past Hotch, but his superior grabbed his arm. His grip was strong, but at the same time, it was gentle. And Spencer quite honestly found it a bit comforting.

"Reid." Hotch kept his voice at a low tone, and within the tone was genuine concern. His eyes seemed to soften as he noticed the sadness etched across Spencer's face. Spencer's bottom lip trembled slightly, and he quietly scolded himself for nearly crying in front of his boss. It was certainly unprofessional…and a bit embarrassing.

Hotch, however, did not seem to notice the embarrassment in Spencer's face. At least, if he did, he was very good at hiding his emotions. _Oh right_, thought Spencer, _He's Aaron Hotchner_.

Finally, Hotch spoke to Spencer. "Do you need to take a break? I can take over the map from here."

Spencer let out a snort and looked at the map, which was covered in numbers, symbols, and lines that only he was able to decode. "Good luck."

Spencer was pretty sure he saw Hotch's face lighten up, but, then again, it was hard to tell from the man who hardly ever smiled.

"I'm being serious, Reid." Hotch went on. "Morgan wanted me to check on you. He said that you've been on edge ever since we got here."

Spencer thought back to that morning, in which he had let his emotions run wild and had taken his anger out on Morgan, simply because he had told Spencer that his tie had a stain on it. Leave it to Morgan to tell on him to Hotch.

"I'm fine." Spencer said softly. Hotch raised an eyebrow.

"Really, I'm fine. I just…" Spencer trailed off. "It's not easy to do this. Bailey is out with some narcissist and quite frankly I feel that all we can do is sit around and wait for the next girl to be killed."

Hotch let go of Spencer's arm, which he had been gripping onto this whole time, and pointed at the map behind Spencer's head. "That's not true. We've narrowed down the location to a twenty mile radius. Somewhere within this circle is our unsub. And if I know you, you're going to pinpoint his exact location. Now, stop being so hard on yourself."

As much as Spencer wanted to believe in Hotch's pep talk, he still felt a sinking feeling inside of himself that would not go away. As Hotch left Spencer to his thoughts, he began to reevaluate the map in a desperate attempt to find Bailey.

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Days passed, and the team received both good and bad news. As far as good news went, Spencer had been able to decrease the radius of Jason's hideout to fourteen miles overall by using the information that Bailey had given them about being in a rural location. Sadly, though, most of the original twenty mile radius had consisted of wooded areas, and Spencer had not been able to eliminate much.

In bad news, there was only one day left before the killing of the third girl on Jason's list, Teresa Cenido. With Bailey being Girl #5, the team recognized the urgency now more than ever. Nearly three weeks had passed since the abduction of the girls, and only two more remained for Bailey if the team did not find her in time.

Spencer, deciding to finally take a break, had asked JJ to go with him to make sure Jake was alright. She had agreed, and they both walked up the steps to Jake and Bailey's home nearly a half hour later.

Jake answered the door rather quickly. It became apparent that he had not slept well in quite a while. Normally, he was clean shaven, full of pep, and overall extremely attractive. Now, though, he had dark circles underneath his eyes, he had not bothered to shave in a couple of days, and even the shine in his eyes had seemed to have disappeared. He managed a small smile for Spencer and JJ, and allowed them to come inside.

Anni was sitting at the kitchen table in her highchair, and she was busily clapping her spoon and her plate together. The smile on her face made Spencer smile as well, and walked into the kitchen to greet his goddaughter. Meanwhile, JJ filled Jake in on the new leads in the case. Anni recognized Spencer and her face brightened. She let out a cry in delight, and held her arms out to Spencer. Spencer picked her up out of the highchair and stared intently at her face. He could see Bailey staring back at him, and his eyes began to tear up. She was a beautiful little girl.

**(**_**Spencer's Flashback**_**)**

**Spencer sat in the hospital waiting room, tapping his foot nervously underneath his chair. Anyone who saw would have thought that he was an expectant father who had been kicked out of the delivery room by his pissed off wife, and that he was about to hold his newborn child in his arms within the next few hours. However, Spencer was not the father, simply the anxious best friend, who had nearly collapsed the first time he heard Bailey moan at the pain of her contraction, and who had to be been escorted by a nurse out to the waiting room so that he would not pass out in the delivery room.**

**After nearly fourteen hours, four books, seventeen magazines, and a dozen cups of coffee later, Jake finally appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. Spencer jumped up and looked at him in excitement. Jake seemed utterly surprised that Spencer had waited the entire time Bailey had been in labor and that he had refused to leave the waiting room until the baby was born. Jake gave Spencer a large smile and couldn't help but laugh at his friend.**

**When Spencer couldn't take the waiting any longer, he spoke up. "Well? Did she have the baby yet?"**

**Jake gave him another, softer smile. "Spencer, come meet your goddaughter." **

**Spencer followed Jake into the small hospital room. Upon entering, he saw Bailey holding a small child wrapped in a pink blanket. She was smiling down at the baby, and she hardly noticed Spencer and Jake approach her. **

**She looked up and her best friend and smiled softly. There were tearstains on her cheeks, and it was obvious that she was exhausted, but she managed to talk to Spencer.**

"**Oh, Spencer. She's beautiful." Bailey whispered. She handed Spencer the bundle, and he reached out and grabbed it. Bailey let her eyes flutter closed, and she leaned back into the pillows beneath her head. Jake kissed her temple, and she soon fell asleep.**

**Spencer, however, noticed hardly any of this; he was too mesmerized by the face of his goddaughter to notice much of anything. Her face resembled Bailey's in quite a few ways, and her deep, blue eyes made them even more alike. Spencer felt his eyes glistening over as the baby grasped his finger.**

"**Hi there, Anne Marie." He said softly. "I'm your Uncle Spencer."**

_**(End Flashback)**_

Spencer snapped back to reality. The same baby girl was in his arms now, but she had grown a year older in the time that had passed. However, she still remained the most beautiful baby girl he had ever seen.

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Back at the BAU, the team knew that Jason was planning to kill Teresa the next day. Within that time period, Spencer would not be surprised if he played more mind games on them as well. Spencer expected at least minimal contact with Bailey before Teresa was murdered. As if on cue, Garcia called Spencer down to her work space.

He entered, and noticed that Hotch and Morgan were there as well. "What's going on?"

"Jason wants to video chat with us." Garcia replied.

"Alright." Spencer replied, his fists balled up at his sides.

Garcia excepted the video chat, and Bailey's face appeared on the screen. She gave a weak smile. "Spencer."

"Hey Bailey." He replied. He sat down in the chair in front of the computer.

"I think we're near a grocery store." Bailey said quickly. "Because he left us so he could get groceries and he came back very quickly."

"Bailey, you should become cop." Spencer said with a smile. "That's actually a really big help."

Bailey managed another small smile. "Does that mean you'll be able to find me now?"

Spencer's smile faded. "We're going to save you Bailey. Don't worry."

"It's hard not to worry." She said softly. Footsteps could be heard from behind Bailey, and she suddenly tensed up. Jason appeared behind her, stroking her hair.

"Shh, Courtney. I won't hurt you." He murmured.

"You sick son of a bitch. I'm not Courtney!" Bailey screamed. Jason slapped her across her face, and Spencer winced.

"Does that remind you of how your father used to hit you?" He taunted.

"Not really." Bailey kept her composure. "You hit like a three year old girl compared to my father."

Jason pushed Bailey out of the chair onto the ground. He sat in her seat in front of the computer. "This chat is over." He pushed a button, and the screen went blank.

"I'm going to look on my map for grocery stores within the radius." Spencer said, rushing out of the room. Morgan and Hotch gave each other a knowing look.

"Garcia, play that video over. We need to analyze it." Hotch spoke up.

"Alrighty." Garcia said. She clicked a button, and Bailey's face, frozen in time, appeared on the screen.

TO BE CONTINUED  
(TBC)

A/N: Hope you all like it. Review please!


	11. Found

The Funny Thing About Friends

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: I hope you all like this! No Criminal Minds for the summer! Nooooo! :( haha well, anyway, hope you like this chapter. Read and Review please! (:

Chapter 10

It was the last day of Teresa Cenido's short life according to Jason, and every member of the BAU was on edge, especially Spencer. He and Garcia had been trying to find a person who fit their profile who lived within the fourteen mile radius Spencer had narrowed down. So far, they had no one.

Just as Garcia was about to click on another man who could be Jason, a 'you've got mail' icon popped up on her computer screen.

"Dammit." Spencer muttered. Garcia raised her eyebrows. Spencer was not usually one to curse, but then again, this was personal. With a heavy heart, Garcia opened the webmail that Jason had sent to her. Both she and Spencer knew that they were about to witness the murder of Teresa, Girl #3.

"Hello, friends." Jason's face appeared on Garcia's camera screen. "So, I see you fail once again. And poor Courtney will have to pay for it." Jason ran his hand through the hair of Teresa, who was trembling in her chair next to him.

"Please, please don't do this." Teresa cried out as Jason picked up a gun next to him. "Please! Help me! Someone help me!"

Her screams were cut off by the penetrating sound of the gun being fired. Teresa doubled over, and her hand flew to her chest as a stain of blood became larger and larger on her blouse.

"No one can help you now." Jason muttered. Teresa's hand dropped from her chest to her lap, and any trace of life left her. Jason smiled into the camera, and turned it off. Garcia's computer screen went dark.

Garcia, who had her eyes closed for much of the video, reopened them. Spencer was clenching his fists, and he seemed to be lost in thought. He soon snapped out of his thoughts, however, and returned to the original task at hand: trying to find Jason.

"Garcia, we need to narrow down our search." Spencer said.

"I can do that, just give me the perimeters." Garcia responded, typing as she spoke.

"Just start a new search. We're going back to square one." Spencer instructed.

Garcia cleared their search. "Back to square one."

"Alright." Spencer thought for a moment. "Look for anyone who has purchased or rented out a home in the 14-mile perimeter within the last year."

Garcia typed some keys. "Eighty-two people."

"Bailey said our unsub was keeping them in a barn. Look for owners of homes with barns." Spencer said.

"That narrows it down to twenty-four people, my dear." Garcia chimed.

Spencer gave another instruction. "Find anyone with a record. It has to be within the past five years, since the death of Courtney. People don't just go from being normal to becoming murderers."

"What kind of a record?" Garcia inquired.

"Small things. Such as a peeping tom, animal abuse, things along those lines."

"Okay." Garcia nodded as she typed. "I have five people who have records. Let me pull up their pictures." Garcia pressed a button, and pointed to a screen as a picture popped up.

"There he is!" She exclaimed. A small smile hung on her lips, and a glimmer of hope shined in her eyes. "He owns the house under the name Johnny Turner. The address is 984 Windsor Drive."

"Garcia, you're a saint." Spencer jumped up and ran out of the room, destined to find the rest of the team so they could head out to capture the son of a bitch who had taken Bailey.

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"Hotch!" Spencer nearly ran into his superior as he hurried out of Garcia's office.

"What is it, Reid?" Hotch looked down at Spencer.

Spencer spoke quickly. "Garcia and I found an address. We know where the girls are. We need to gather the team and go." Spencer was nearly jumping up-and-down.

"Reid, calm down. I'll find Morgan, Dave, Prentiss and JJ. We'll meet in the parking lot in three minutes and head out." Hotch responded, before beginning his search to find the other team members.

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The six agents approached the barn that belonged to their unsub. They stayed a good one hundred yards away from it, as not to be seen or heard by Jason.

"There's only one entrance into and out of the barn." Hotch told the team. "Morgan, Dave and I will go in first. Reid, Prentiss, and JJ, you'll cover." They all nodded, and they quickly – yet stealthily – made their way to Jason's barn.

Hotch waited until they were all in proper positions before nodding. Morgan kicked in the door, and shouted, "FBI!". Four young women sat along the wall of the barn, and a couple let out shrieks. Jason, upon becoming aware of the FBI's presence, quickly grabbed the nearest girl to him.

Spencer felt his stomach drop as he noticed the girl to be Bailey.

Jason held Bailey close to him. He had a gun pointed at her temple. Bailey looked helplessly at Spencer, tears welling up in her eyes as she trembled.

"C'mon man." Morgan said, his gun pointed at Jason. "Just let her go."

Jason paid no attention to Morgan however, and instead looked directly at Spencer. "I'll blow her brains out, Dr. Reid. Then who will take care of her daughter, hmm?" He smiled across the room to Spencer. "Oh, that's right. _You_ would."

Spencer gripped his gun tighter in his hands.

"I've been waiting for an opportunity to talk to you face to face, you know." Jason went on. Spencer slowly lowered his weapon. He laid it on the ground as Hotch gave him a questioning look. Spencer ignored Hotch's glances.

"Then let's talk." Spencer held his hands up to show that he held no weapon. "Let Bailey go. She has nothing to do with this. Just talk to me."

Jason gave a small smirk. "Let's have our talk first, then I'll let Bailey go."

"How do I know you'll let her go after the talk is over?" Spencer looked Jason over carefully.

Jason avoided the question, but instead looked at Bailey. "Do you want to talk to your little boyfriend?" He mocked her, a smile across his face. "Go ahead, say your last words."

Bailey let out a whimper as Jason tightened his grip around her.

"Spencer, I need to tell you something." Bailey spoke up, a tear falling down her face.

Spencer nodded for her to go on.

"Actually, I need to tell you a lot of things that I've never gotten a chance to really tell you and now it's going to be too late and –" Bailey trailed off. She took a deep breath and continued.

"It's alright Bailey." Spencer said softly. "You're going to be alright."

Bailey gave a small attempt at a laugh. "You know, it's funny, because I'm standing here with a damn gun to my head and all that I'm thinking about is how we snuck into a casino one night when we were kids and we won 50,000 dollars."

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Bailey flipped her blond hair over her shoulder and batted her eyes at the bartender across the bar from her. Spencer looked at his best friend, and noticed how she looked similar to Farrah Faucett from Charlie's Angels. The low light in the Planet Hollywood casino made her look like a movie star.**

**Spencer rolled his eyes at Bailey, who had been able to convince the young bartender (who clearly thought that she was attractive) that she was over the legal drinking age. In reality, she was only 19 years old, but she had 'borrowed' Caroline's I.D. Spencer was not sure how Bailey talked him into doing these types of things. **

**She only wanted one shot, anyway. Actually, Spencer was pretty sure she was only seeing if she could get away with pretending she was Caroline. Either way, she was able to get both. As Bailey raised her drink to her lips, her eyes danced over the slot machines to her left. She eyes twinkled in excitement.**

**Spencer followed her gaze and knew exactly what Bailey was thinking about. He looked over at his best friend, who was staring back to him. A smile was appearing on her face.**

"**Let's do it." Bailey slid out of the bar stool. The bartender seemed a bit disappointed that he had not at least gotten her number. Considering that he was at least four years older than Bailey, Spencer was glad that she was not as attracted to him as he was to her. Bailey linked her arm with Spencer's and they headed toward the slot machines. **

"**You have terrible ideas, you know." Spencer rolled his eyes as Bailey pulled out a five dollar bill from her purse.**

"**They aren't terrible ideas, they're just **_**fun**_** ideas." Bailey inserted the five dollars into the machine. "Now, how do we play this?" **

"**Pull down the lever." Spencer put his hand on top of Baileys, and he showed her how to start the machine. The machine lit up and **_**whirred**_** as three different pictures spun around wildly. Two cherries and a money symbol were the end result. Bailey fake pouted.**

"**We lost." **

"**You have four more tries." Spencer told her. "You know, this isn't a random as you would think. If you base this game on the fact that this casino has a 99.7% chance of money return on slot games, and you-"**

**Bailey placed her finger over Spencer's lips. "Spencer, I love you and I love your brain, but let's just play the game normally." She smiled at Spencer and he blushed slightly while smiling. Bailey took her finger off of his lips and pulled down the lever again. Bailey watched the pictures spin around and come into place. Her eyes widened.**

"**Spencer…" She called out to Spencer, who had looked away from the game to keep an eye on the security guard, to make sure he did not figure out that Spencer and Bailey were not yet twenty-one years old. He turned back to Bailey and looked at the game. His mouth fell slightly open as he noticed the three 'jackpot' symbols were in a row on their slot machine.**

**Chips started falling out of the slot in the machine and Spencer looked at Bailey in awe. "You won."**

"**I won!" Bailey called out. She looked like a kid in a candy store. She looked at Spencer. "How much did we win?"**

**Spencer smiled over at his best friend. "Fifty thousand dollars."**

**(End Flashback)**

Spencer gave her a small smile. "I remember that."

"Of course you do; you never forget anything." Bailey said softly. "I should be thinking about some life-changing thing to tell you right now, but I just keep having flashbacks." Bailey looked at Spencer sadly. "Spencer, you're the best friend I've ever had. Damn, I'm so fucking in love with you."

Spencer was surprised by Bailey's language, but her words made him tear up. "You're going to be alright Bailey."

Jason, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout the conversation, let out a laugh. "Not if I have anything to do with it." He gripped his gun tighter.

"Jason, listen to me." Spencer said. "These girls aren't Courtney. Killing them will not bring her back. If you let Bailey go, we can get you help. Just let Bailey go."

Jason's eyes were wide, and his face turned to anger. "No! You're wrong! Courtney is fine. She is right here." He looked down at Bailey.

"No, Jason." Spencer shook his head. "Courtney isn't here."

"I'm sorry." Jason mumbled into Bailey's ear.

He readied his gun as soon as Morgan fired his first shot toward Jason. The bullet hit Jason in the chest, and he began to fall down, bringing Bailey down with him. Jason managed to fire one last shot before landing on the ground. The bullet fired from his gun and hit Bailey.

Bailey's hands flew to her abdomen, where she had been shot, and she gasped in pain. She fell to her knees. Spencer rushed over to her as Hotch called for a medic and Morgan went to check Jason's vitals.

"Bailey, you're going to be fine. I need you to lay down flat on your back. Can you do that for me?" Spencer felt tears burning his eyes, and he blinked them away.

"Anything for you." Bailey said softly. She winced as she repositioned herself on the ground. A tear fell from her eye.

Spencer unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. He used it to slow the bleeding coming from Bailey's wound. He wrapped his tie around Bailey's small waist to keep it in place.

"I a-always wanted to see you naked." Bailey softly joked. Spencer knew that she was trying hard to ignore the pain by speaking with him.

"Maybe later." Spencer replied was a small smile. Bailey raised an eyebrow, and she attempted a small laugh.

"I'll hold you to that promise, Spencer Reid." She said with a forced smile. Spencer couldn't stand seeing her in pain. Bailey reached up and laid her hand on the side of his face, as though she knew what he was thinking. "I'm fine." She whispered. Spencer did not believe her. He took her hand in his and squeezed it.

Hotch came over to Spencer and Bailey. "The medics are on their way. Just hold in there."

Spencer nodded. "It doesn't look as though any vital organs have been hit, but she's losing blood." Spencer looked at Bailey. She was losing quite a bit of blood, actually, even with his shirt tied around her wound. The medics needed to hurry.

"You're A-Agent Hotchner, aren't you?" Bailey looked up at Hotch. She was speaking barely above a whisper, and she had begun to stutter her words. Spencer realized that it was painful for her to talk; however, she was talking in an attempt to ignore the pain.

"Yes, I am. We spoke on the phone, I believe." Hotch gave Bailey a small – and rarely ever seen – smile.

Bailey nodded. Before she could respond to Hotch, a thought struck her mind. She looked at Spencer, her eyes wide. "I need to call Jake!"

Spencer took his phone out of his pocket and dialed Jake's number. He picked nearly right away.

"Hello?" Jake said into the phone.

"Jake, it's Spencer. We found Bailey, and she wants to talk to you." Spencer gave the phone to Bailey.

"J-Jake?" She asked softly.

"Oh, Bailey." Jake breathed out a shaky sigh of relief. Bailey began to cry.

"I love you." She whispered into the phone.

"I love you so much." Jake replied. "Are you alright?"

Bailey hesitated. "I got s-shot. But Spencer is going with m-me to the h-hospital. I'll b-be f-f-fine." Bailey's voice was barely audible. Her eyes began to flutter closed. Hotch took the phone from her and began to explain to Jake what happened, and to which hospital they would be taking Bailey. He told Jake to meet them at Carson Memorial Hospital.

"Bailey, stay with me." Spencer squeezed Bailey's hand. "Stay with me."

"I l-love y-you, Spencer." Bailey struggled to keep her eyes open as she mumbled her words to her best friend.

He heard the sound of the ambulance outside of the barn.

"C'mon Bailey. It's going to be all right. Just stay with me."

Bailey could barely hold her eyes open. Spencer's shirt was soaked with her blood, as was Spencer himself.

A medic gently pulled Spencer away from Bailey as a few others lifted her onto a stretcher. They placed an oxygen mask over her face as they lifted her into the ambulance. Spencer jumped into the ambulance after them, his mind in a daze.

"Bailey, my name is Austin. I'm a doctor. Can you hear me?" One of the doctors leaned down to speak to Bailey as the ambulance began to speed down the road. Bailey's eyes fluttered completely closed, and the doctor frowned. "She's barely responsive."

The monitor hooked up to Bailey that showed her vitals began to blink and beep. Spencer looked up from Bailey to the monitor, and his heart dropped as he saw that she was flat-lining.

"Everyone clear!" One doctor called. She looked at Spencer, quite annoyed. "Sir, please let go of her hand."

Spencer looked down and realized that he was still clinging onto Bailey's hand, and he let go. He watched in complete dismay as Bailey was shocked by the defibrillator. What if she didn't respond? What if she actually died? Spencer cleared his mind. Now was not the time to think of 'what if's'.

"Come back to us, Bailey." One of the doctors called softly. "Clear!" He pressed the defibrillator down onto Bailey's chest once more, and the heart beat on the monitor began once again.

"Atta girl, Bailey." The doctor mumbled, more to himself than to Bailey. Spencer let out his breath, which he suddenly realized he had been holding in.

"Prep her for surgery. She needs to be stabilized or she may crash again. And if she crashes again, we may lose her." Another doctor instructed. The others nodded. Spencer seemed to be in a dream as he fixed his eyes upon Bailey. He grabbed her hand once more.

"I'm right here, Bailey." He whispered into her ear. "I'm right here."

TO BE CONTINUED!

A/N: I'm not sure if the next chapter will be the last or not. But this story is almost finished! Sequel, maybe? Hmm, I'm not sure. Tell me what you think! (: Have a great Memorial Day Weekend! (:


	12. Love

The Funny Thing About Friends

Chapter 11

I Own Nothing :(

A/N: THIS IS IT! Ahh, the end is near! I have an epilogue planned (read the note at the bottom of the chapter) if anyone is interested! Thanks for reading! Reviews make my day!(:

Chapter 11

The ambulance pulled up next to the emergency room double door entrance at Carson Memorial Hospital. One of the doctors pulled open the ambulance doors while the others lowered the stretcher that held Bailey onto the ground. Spencer continued to hold Bailey's hand as the doctors wheeled her stretcher down the hospital hallway.

Everything seemed to be a blur as they raced down the hallway, and Spencer kept his eyes fixed on Bailey's face to keep himself from getting sick. When they reached the operating room doors, one of the doctors held out her hand to gently stop Spencer from walking.

"Sir, you have to stay here. You can't go in the operating room with us." She said softly.

"But –" Spencer trailed off as he watched Bailey disappear into the operating room.

The doctor looked up at him, her eyes filled with pity and compassion. "Just stay in the waiting room down the hall. I promise I'll come out every once in a while and fill you in on how Bailey's doing. Okay?"

Spencer nodded and he managed to say, "Thank you."

The doctor gave his arm a small squeeze before entering the operating room behind her.

After she was gone, Spencer felt the overwhelming desire to crawl up into a ball and disappear. He sunk down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He felt as though he was going to pass out as reality began to sink into his mind. He finally allowed himself to give into the desire to cry. He closed his eyes as tears began to well up and trail down his cheeks.

"Spencer." As his name was spoken, Spencer opened his eyes. Hotch was crouched down next to him on the floor. Hotch had his hand gently laid on Spencer's arm, and his face showed worry.

Spencer suddenly realized how pathetic he must have looked to Hotch; he was covered in Bailey's blood, which was now getting all over the floor and the wall that he was leaning against. He was also sitting without his shirt or tie, but only in an old undershirt and his pants. Spencer felt his cheeks slightly turn a darker shade of pink in embarrassment.

If Hotch noticed how pathetic Spencer looked, however, he did not show it. Instead, he held out his hand to Spencer to help him stand up. Spencer took his hand and stood up from the ground.

"C'mon. Let's go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up." Hotch said gently.

Spencer nodded, but then stopped suddenly. "Wait. A doctor told me to wait in the waiting room. I have to wait there. She's going to tell me how Bailey's doing. I-I can't leave. I have to be there."

Spencer went to walk past his superior, but Hotch held onto his arm. "Spencer, there isn't going to be an update for a while. Even if there is, the rest of the team is in the waiting room. They'll fill us in if something happens. Right now, you just need to take care of yourself." Hotch said softly.

Spencer nodded once again, and finally agreed. "Okay."

Hotch walked with Spencer down the hall into the men's bathroom. Spencer reached a sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. There was a streak of blood across his cheek from when he had tried to wipe away tears that were falling down his face. Seeing Bailey's blood on his face made his eyes water once again.

_Don't cry in front of Hotch, stupid_. Spencer thought to himself, taking a deep breath. However, Spencer knew that Hotch was the one person who was able to understand why he was crying; Hotch was the one person who knew what Spencer was feeling.

Spencer turned on the faucet and gathered the water that poured out to wash his bloodstained hands. He then cupped his hands and splashed water on his face, using it to erase the blood and tearstains. He used a paper towel to dry the water droplets upon his face, and, looking in the mirror, he sighed.

"Take off your beater." Hotch spoke up. Spencer looked over at him.

"What?"

"Your undershirt. It's covered in blood. Take it off." Hotch explained.

Spencer looked down at himself. There was quite a bit of blood drenching the shirt, and he gladly peeled it off of his body. He stood in front of Hotch, wearing no shirt of any kind, and he couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. Hotch opened his briefcase and pulled out an old gray t-shirt. It read _Dewey Beach _across the front, and there was a picture of a crab underneath the writing.

Hotch held out his hand and handed the shirt to Spencer. "I always keep an extra shirt, just in case." He explained. "If Jack and I ever go somewhere after work, I don't have to stop at home to change. It's more convenient just to keep a change of clothes with me."

Spencer tilted his head slightly. It was weird – yet comforting – to hear Hotch talk to him about his son and his personal life. Spencer realized that it had been happening quite frequently lately.

Spencer pulled the t-shirt over his head and briefly looked in the mirror. Hotch was taller and much more muscular that he was, and the shirt was large on his thin frame. Spencer did not mind, however; there was a strange feeling of ease that came with wearing Hotch's shirt, and he felt slightly relieved now that he was no longer covered in Bailey's blood.

"I'm starving." Spencer suddenly spoke up.

Hotch raised an eyebrow, and he gave a slight hint of a smile. "Then let's go to the cafeteria."

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Spencer hadn't been lying when he said he was starving. He sat at a cafeteria table with Hotch, and he had quite a bit of food before him. He had eaten three slices of pizza, a bowl of mac-and-cheese, a plate of chicken fingers, a fruit bowl, and two brownies. Hotch was watching him in comic amusement; he would have never guessed that someone as skinny as Spencer could eat that much food in one sitting. Not to mention that Spencer had basically dumped an entire container of sugar into his coffee cup.

"Bailey and I used to go to this one hospital when we were kids and pretend we were visiting one of the patients so that we could eat lunch at the hospital cafeteria." Spencer said softly, managing to talk about his best friend without thinking about her on the operating table. "We thought that hospital food was like the best food in all of Las Vegas."

Hotch smiled. "What _didn't_ you two do when you were kids?"

Spencer gave a smile back. "We were almost always together growing up. She was popular, and, obviously I wasn't, considering I graduated high school at twelve years old. But she always ditched her friends so that she could hang out with me. We were like partners-in-crime." He took another bite of his pizza. He sighed. "I don't know what I would do without her." He looked down at the ground sadly.

"She's going to be fine, Spencer." Hotch said. Spencer noticed that Hotch hadn't called him 'Reid' since they had gotten to the hospital. "She's a strong girl."

Spencer nodded in agreement. His phone went off at that moment, and he took it out from his pocket. He read the text message on the screen quickly. "Jake's here." He told Hotch. "We should go up to the waiting room with everyone else."

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Spencer and Hotch entered the waiting room where Morgan, JJ, Emily, Rossi, Garcia, and Jake, holding Anni, were seated. Jake was tapping his foot nervously on the ground as the baby girl in his arms slept, unaware that her mother was only a few rooms away.

Everyone looked up as they noticed Spencer and Hotch, and Jake stood up as he saw them. He gathered Spencer into a hug, tears gathering in his eyes.

"You found her. You saved her." He managed to say to Spencer. As Jake pulled away from the hug, Spencer gave him a small smile.

"She's going to be all right." He said softly. However, Spencer wasn't even sure if he believed his own words, and his heart was still heavy inside of his chest with fear.

"How are you holding in there, Spence?" JJ called from across the room.

Spencer gave a small shrug and a quick glance toward Hotch. "Better now."

"Come sit down, love." Garcia chimed into the conversation. She patted the chair next to her, and Spencer seated himself upon it. Hotch took the chair next to Spencer.

JJ was seated next to Jake, who sat back down in his chair. He appeared very tired, and he leaned back and closed his eyes. At the same time, Anni opened her eyes and gave a yawn.

"Do you mind if I hold her?" JJ asked Jake with a small smile. Jake gave a smile back and handed Anni to JJ.

"Hello there sweetheart! Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" JJ cooed softly to the baby girl in her arms. Anni gave a small giggle, followed by another yawn.

Spencer felt hot tears burning in his eyes as he watched JJ from across the room. _Hold in there, Bailey._ He thought to himself. _Hold in there. Anni needs you. _Spencer bit his lip in an attempt to hold back tears. _I need you._

**(Spencer's Flashback)**

**Spencer was only nine years old when his father walked out. It was a young age, and most kids wouldn't have realized what was going on. Spencer, however, was not like most kids.**

**His father patted him on the head and simply walked out of their home, suitcases in hand. He was too much of a coward to look Diana in the eyes as he turned his back on her and their son and left them behind. Spencer was positive that Diana was not quite aware of what was occurring around her; she simply asked Spencer to crawl up next to her so she could read him a story. He told himself that since his mother was not worried over his father leaving that he shouldn't fret either; however, his mind was racing with the very likely possibility that he would never see his father again.**

**By the time Diana had read her son the book cover to cover, he had tears in his eyes. He had not been paying attention to much of the book, but rather had his thoughts centered around his father. Was he really gone…forever?**

**Diana did not seem to notice that her son was crying. She put the book aside and closed her eyes, and, within moments, she was sound asleep. Spencer quietly leaped off the bed, careful not to wake his mother, and padded out of the bedroom. He found his shoes and baseball hat by the front screen door, and he headed outside.**

**He walked down the sidewalk, his head pointed toward the ground. He did not get far, though, before he heard Bailey calling his name from the house next door to his own.**

"**There you are!" She cried out to him, bounding down her porch steps to him. "What's up?"**

**Spencer looked up at her, and Bailey could automatically tell there was something wrong with her best friend. She frowned and cocked her head to the side.**

"**What's wrong?" She asked softly.**

**Spencer bit his lip before speaking. "My dad's gone."**

**He did not need to explain anything more than that sentence to Bailey for her to understand what was going on. Bailey was basically an expert on scumbag fathers (even at only nine years old), and she knew exactly what Spencer meant without having him go into detail.**

**Bailey clenched her fists down at her side until her knuckles turned white in color, and set her jaw as she looked past Spencer at his house. She took in the absence of his father's car, even though he should have been home from work hours before.**

**Bailey refocused her gaze onto Spencer, who she pulled into a hug. Spencer allowed one tear to etch itself down his face, landing on Bailey's shoulder.**

"**Dads suck." Bailey spoke up, pulling away from the hug. "We don't need them. We just need each other."**

**(End Flashback)**

Hotch placed his hand just above Spencer's knee, catching his attention. "Are you alright? You look like you're going to pass out." He said softly.

Spencer nodded and managed to choke out the words, "I'm fine."

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

Two-and-a-half hours passed by, and there was still not much word on how Bailey was doing. Even though the one doctor Spencer had spoken to – whose name was Betty – gave them updates whenever she could, they were very vague. It was still unknown if Bailey would survive surgery.

The BAU members had all told Spencer that they were going to be with him every step of the way, and, when Spencer had told them that it was all right if they wanted to leave, Hotch told him it was 'out of the question'. The others agreed, and they remained with Jake and Spencer in the waiting room.

Betty entered the waiting room, her face clearly showing that she was tired. She looked into the room, her gaze landing on Spencer.

"Mr. Reid?" She called softly. Spencer's attention turned to the doctor, eager for any news about Bailey's condition. Jake sat up straighter and did the same.

"She's stable and out of surgery." Betty gave a smile. "She's a fighter. She's going to be fine."

Smiles broke out within the room. Jake hugged the first person he saw – who happened to be JJ – and mumbled into her shoulder, "She's going to be okay."

JJ smiled at Jake. "Your wife's a strong woman."

He smiled back and wiped new tears from his eyes. "I know."

Morgan slapped his arm around Spencer's shoulders. "You hear that, kid? She's gunna be just fine."

Spencer smiled widely. "I don't even know what to say now. I was sitting here, preparing myself for the worst, and now…" He trailed off. "I don't know what to say."

Betty spoke up. "Who here is family of Mrs. Connor?"

Jake raised his hand. "I'm her husband. And Anni is our daughter." He pointed to the baby who was in his arms.

"Alright. Could you follow me? We can't take more than one or two visitors at a time, because she's only been out of surgery for about an hour now, but I think she's up to having visitors. She's been asking about you since the moment she woke up from surgery." Betty told Jake with a small smile. "I should warn you though; she's still a bit loopy from the surgery and the pain medication." She led Jake out of the room to where Bailey was located down the hall.

Once Jake left, Hotch addressed the rest of his team. "I'll stay and interview Bailey, once Reid gets time to visit with her. Could the rest of you get statements from the other women? They're all still here, getting checked out by the doctors and contacting their families. After that, feel free to head back to the hotel. It's been a long day. We'll leave for Quantico tomorrow, after all the paperwork is filed."

The rest of the team nodded, and, as they left the waiting room, hugged Spencer and mumbled some kind of encouraging words to him. Once they had all gone, Spencer and Hotch remained the only people in the room.

They sat, mostly in silence, for nearly an hour-and-a-half before Betty and Jake returned. Jake's smile seemed blinding.

"Bailey's asking about you Spencer." Jake said.

Spencer jumped up from his seat. Jake patted him on the back. "I'm going to the airport to pick up Caroline, and I'm going to leave Anni with her husband. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Spencer nodded. "Drive safely. Tell Caroline I say hello."

Spencer and Hotch reached Bailey's hospital room, and Hotch paused at the door. "You go ahead and have a private moment with her. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. Anyway, we can just save the interview until tomorrow, when she's not so 'out of it'."

Spencer nodded. As Hotch turned to leave, Spencer called after him. "Aaron!"

Hotch turned around, quite surprised. It was much unlike Spencer – or really anyone on the team – to call him by his first name. "Yeah, Reid?"

"Thank you. For everything."

Hotch smiled his rare smile at Spencer for a long moment. "Anytime." And with that, he turned and walked down the hallway toward the hospital exit.

Spencer entered Bailey's hospital room, and took a sharp intake of breath. Bailey was laying down in the bed in a hospital gown, and, despite looking very tired, she appeared to be much like her normal self. A few monitors and IVs were hooked up to her, and they beeped around her. Bailey smiled widely when she saw Spencer enter the room, and she exclaimed, "Spencer!" as loud as she could without causing her wound to hurt her.

Spencer rushed to her side and kissed her left temple. "Damn, Bailey. You're alright." He mumbled into her ear.

"Thanks to you." She muttered softly.

"You don't have to worry about Jason anymore, Bailey. He's dead. We killed him. You're safe now." Spencer sat down in the chair next to Bailey's bed.

Bailey gave a soft murmur, and she sounded content. Her whole body seemed to relax slightly.

"Remember that night?" She asked Spencer, suddenly. Spencer was confused, but he remembered Betty saying that Bailey was a bit loopy from the surgery, so he went along with her train of thought.

"What night?" He asked.

"When I hurt Chris."

Spencer was a bit surprised by the topic; it was rather random. Chris was a dirt bag Bailey had dated years before, and one night he had the nerve to hit her. Bailey, haunted by the memory of her abusive father, 'beat the snot' out of Chris, and ended up breaking his nose. If it hadn't been for Spencer holding her back, she probably would have done worse. If you asked Spencer, Chris deserved what he got.

"Yes, Bailey, I remember." He responded.

"So do I." She muttered.

"Mm-Hmm." Spencer murmured.

Bailey looked up at him. "Were you scared?"

Spencer thought over the question. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you almost got into a lot of trouble."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Spencer pushed a strand of Bailey's blond hair out of her eyes. "Don't be."

Bailey cocked her head. "Don't be what?"

"Don't be sorry." Spencer replied.

"Sorry about what?"

Spencer smiled softly at Bailey. "Chris."

"Chris?" Bailey inquired. "He hit me. Do you remember that night? I do. I was scared. But you saved me. You're my hero."

"I love you, Bailey." Spencer whispered.

Bailey smiled. "I love you more."

"Oh really?" Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"Mm-Hmm. I really do. Promise."

"Okay. I promise I love you, too."

Bailey paused. "Did I ever love my dad?"

"I don't know Bailey. Did you?"

Bailey rolled her eyes at Spencer. "You already know, you're just pretending you don't. You know everything."

Spencer laughed. "Pretty much."

"You always know what I'm thinking."

"That's because you always think of the same thing." Spencer replied.

Bailey rolled her eyes again. "What do I always think of, then, Mr. Smarty Pants?"

"How amazing I am." Spencer smiled at Bailey. She smiled back.

"Very true. That's all I ever think about." Bailey lowered her voice. "I even dream about it."

Spencer raised both of his eyebrows. "So you dream about me?"

Bailey shrugged. "Sure. Sometimes. But you don't dream about me. You always dream about Star Wars."

"That's not true."

"I'm not a liar." Bailey responded.

Spencer pushed back the strand of hair that had once again fallen into Bailey's blue eyes. "I never said that you were."

"Daddy used to call me a lying bitch."

"I know Bailey."

"Am I a lying bitch?"

"No, Bailey."

"Then why did he say it?" Bailey asked yet another question.

Spencer sighed. "Because he's a lying bitch."

"My dad used to call me that."

"I know, Bailey."

Bailey paused, then started to speak again. "Remember when we won $50,000 in the casino? And then we were underage and got kicked out?"

"Those were on two different occasions." Spencer corrected her.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Oh." Bailey paused. "But do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember. I kissed you after we won the money."

"You said I was pretty." Bailey said softly.

"I meant it. It was true, that's why I said it." Spencer replied. Even after Bailey had been captive for nearly a month and had gotten shot, she was still beautiful.

"I don't think daddy ever thought I was pretty."

Spencer shook his head. "Forget about him. He's nothing."

"Don't fall asleep." Bailey whispered.

Spencer furrowed his brow, confused. "Excuse me?"

"Don't fall asleep." Bailey repeated. "Caroline used to tell me that. Don't fall asleep until daddy does. He always has to fall asleep first, or else he might do bad things while we're asleep. Shh, don't wake him up."

Spencer could have sworn he felt his heart break. He hated hearing storied about Bailey's father. "I love you, Bailey."

"I love you, too."

"You're beautiful."

Bailey smiled softly. "Remember when you proposed to me?"

Spencer smiled back at her. "You proposed to me, Bailey, remember?"

"I just said that!"

"I know you did." Spencer smiled to himself.

"We should've gotten married." Bailey struggled to keep her eyes open.

"What about Jake?" Spencer asked Bailey, jokingly.

"I love him."

"I know."

"I love Anni."

"I know."

Bailey's eyelids fluttered closed. Just before she fell asleep, she mumbled to Spencer. "I love you."

Spencer kissed Bailey on her forehead. "I love you, too."

THE END!

A/N: Okay, I have an epilogue/sequel thing planned if anyone is interested…but if not, the story can end here! In the epilogue, Bailey's father shows up, and things between Spencer/Hotch get a bit intense. Bailey has another baby! Also, Bailey tells Hotch what Spencer has said about him in the past. Ooh, juicy gossip! Hahaha(: It'll be called Friends Forever if you think it's a good idea! So tell me what you think! Review, review, review! (: I hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks to all readers!


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